H1N1 Swine Flu Information & Links

The WHO is concerned about current patterns of serious cases and deaths that are occurring primarily among young persons, including the previously healthy and those with pre-existing medical conditions or pregnancy.

DO NOT USE THIS INFORMATION TO MAKE LIFE OF DEATH DECISIONS!

 NEWS UPDATES:

UPDATED: 9/3/09 Over 2200 confirmed deaths from the HIN1 Virus now reported… The WHO is advising countries in the northern hemisphere to prepare for a second wave of pandemic spread. Countries with tropical climates, where the pandemic virus arrived later than elsewhere, also need to prepare for an increasing number of cases. Pandemic H1N1 influenza virus continues to be the predominant circulating strain of influenza, both in the northern and southern hemisphere. Vulnerable Groups: An increased risk during pregnancy is now consistently well-documented, obesity is also frequently present in severe and fatal cases. Additionally, certain medical conditions increase the risk of severe and fatal illness. These include respiratory disease, notably asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and immunosuppression.

(8/18/09) Vaccine trials begin…
The Vaccine will first be administered to those considered to be at the highest risk… This would include pregnant women, health care providers and people aged 6 months to 24 years. It will also include the parents or primary care-givers of children under 6 months in age, children under 6 months in age will NOT be vaccinated.
Hopefully we will begin to hear more reliable information about this vaccine soon… The official word is that the vaccine is safe. However, rumors abound regarding problems with the vaccine and I do not yet have enough information to say if it is safe or not. It would be nice if a test could be done to check if you were already infected before administering the vaccine.
With school right around the corner we will soon find out if the vaccination will be required for our children, I would hope this would not be done until it is certain the vaccine does not pose a risk to those who receive it, especially when it is very probable many have already had and recovered from infection.

(8/5/09) 353 US deaths have been reported as of 7/30/09, Vaccine on the way…
Since this pesky bug has not gone away I have decided to resume updates, at least on a bi-weekly basis. It is estimated that well over a million people in the US may have been infected with this virus so the percentage of people becoming fatally ill remains fairly low. Still, opinion seems divided as to how severe the infection rate may become with the return of flu season.

The government is also preparing for a vaccination campaign, claiming they will have a safe and effective H1N1 vaccine available for distribution as soon as mid-October, though it is possible large scale outbreaks could occur earlier than that. It may be worth noting that the H1N1 vaccine is not intended to replace the seasonal flu vaccine… It is intended to be used alongside the seasonal flu vaccine, seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines can be administered on the same day.

(6/16/09) 76 countries have reported 35,928 cases of H1N1, with 163 deaths….
Even though the Pandemic Alert Level has been raised to Phase 6, there is little media coverage of the outbreak locally here in SW Florida. That seems to mostly be the case on a national level as well, as such I am going to again stop updating this post until/unless the situation changes to a point where public risk and concern begins to increase.

(6/11/09) The Pandemic Alert Level has been raised to Phase 6 (Pandemic)…
Though I intended on making no additional updates to this post, the WHO has now officially classified this outbreak as an ongoing Global Pandemic. To date 74 countries have reported 28,774 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection, with 144 deaths. In the US all 50 States have at least a few reported cases, the CDC posts Weekly Updates on US cases HERE.
It is important to remember that the WHO’s decision to raise the Pandemic Alert Level to Phase 6 is a reflection of the spread of the virus, not the severity of illness…

(6/7/09) 20000+ Swine Flu (H1N1) cases reported in 69 Countries…
While the Pandemic Alert Level remains at Phase 5 and the virus has claimed at least 125 to date, that translates into about a .6% death rate. With that in mind danger to the general public in the United States would currently appear to be no greater than any seasonal virus… For that reason I am going to suspend further updates on this page unless/until the situation changes, hopefully it will not and this will be my final update.

(5/28/09) 48 Countries now report Swine Flu (H1N1) cases…
In the United States there has been 2 additional deaths since my last update, bringing the total to 11, the number of States reporting cases remains at 48. Florida posts 139 as the number of confirmed cases and claims only local outbreaks of the virus. The WHO continues to hold the Pandemic Alert Level at Phase 5 but the level of concern in the general population has declined steadily over time. I will post another update in about a week.

(5/21/09) Swine Flu (H1N1) cases are now reported in 41 Countries and 48 States…
The US death toll has risen to 9 but media coverage of the situation is limited and it would seem as if it is being treated mostly as a late season flu outbreak, apparently considered to be posing no more of a health threat than most seasonal flu’s do. I will post weekly updates for the short term expecting that after a few weeks the US flu season will be mostly over and a decision can then be made if updates are still needed based on the Alert Level and number of infections/deaths being reported.

(5/14/09) 47 States and 33 Countries now report cases of Swine Flu (H1N1)…
Florida has 65 confirmed cases, a low number when compared to states like Illinois (620) and Wisconsin (510). The US death toll remains at 3 and with Flu Season ending it would seem the US general public is in no more danger than they would be with any Flu Virus, at least until next Flu Season. Still it is worth monitoring the progress of the virus in parts of the world just now entering thier Flu Season, especially when you consider how quickly this all unfolded.

(5/10/09) Swine Flu (H1N1) now reported in 44 States and 29 Countries…
Florida has 53 confirmed cases and the United States death toll is now at 3.

(5/7/09) Swine Flu (H1N1) now confirmed in 41 States and 24 Countries…
It would seem that the threat from this virus is lower than was suspected when initial reports regarding the cases in Mexico surfaced, still the possibility (however unlikely) of mutation into something more serious can not be discounted. For that reason I will update a few times a week as the CDC and WHO continue to monitor the situation.

The lessons learned here are not only how quickly a new virus can spread, but that simple things like washing your hands and being aware of how a virus spreads can help you to avoid being infected. Luckily this strain is not as bad as first thought, because in my opinion the attempts made to contain the problem fall into the category “too little / to late”… Had this actually been the ‘killer flu’ we would have had a very serious worldwide problem before any real steps were taken.

(5/4/09) 21 Countries report confirmed cases / Pandemic Alert remains at Phase 5
I will be unavailable for a few days, unless a major event takes place I will update on Thursday.

(5/3/09) Confirmed cases of Swine Flu now reported in 30 States & 18 Countries.

(5/2/09) Florida Swine Flu Information Line: 800-342-3557 (8am – 8pm)
Jean Kline (Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Health) arrived in Lee County last night and stated today that ‘the county appears to be in good shape’. So far 16 Countries and 21 States have reported confirmed cases of Swine Flu.

(5/1/09) Swine Flu confirmed in two Florida counties (Broward & Lee).
Florida’s Governor declares a Public Health Emergency.
Both cases are in school children, and both schools involved will be closed for at least several days. Florida claims to have half a million courses of anti-viral medication pre-positioned in areas of potential need. Federal officials say 19 states have at least one confirmed case of Swine Flu with many more suspect cases. However, no additional deaths have been reported in the US and the Pandemic Alert Level remains at Phase 5 today.

(4/30/09) Swine Flu suspected in 3 Florida counties – Broward, Lee and Orange.
The Pandemic Alert Level remains at Phase 5 with 18 additional officially confirmed US cases as of 10:30 AM EDT. On a positive note, as new data is collected it seems very possible many more people in Mexico may have been infected than initially suspected… While too early to make general statements about the outbreak, this could mean the percentage of people becoming fatally ill may be much lower than early numbers suggested.

(4/29/09) As of today no cases of Swine Flu have been reported in Florida…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has upgraded the Pandemic Alert to Phase 5 (with Phase 6 being Pandemic) so you should stay informed and follow the advice given to you by national and local officials.