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2008-2009 Reported Influenza Activity in North Dakota
Last Updated 7/28/2009 (!)





http://www.ndflu.com/ (FWIW)

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Those who listen only to what they want to hear end up dancing with their own reflections - in the Abyss.

2009-10-02 07:11:04

Northwestern North Dakota has its first documented case of the H1N1 virus for the new flu season this week at a time when Williston health facilities are running out of the regular seasonal flu vaccine.

The Upper Missouri District Health Unit is postponing all future walk-in vaccination clinics for the regular seasonal flu, said public information officer Daphne Clark. A press release issued late Wednesday by the health unit states the problem is "due to circumstances beyond our control because our distributor is focusing on H1N1 vaccine and our vaccine has not arrived yet."

"We've only received a portion of our order," Clark said of the seasonal flu vaccine.

The delay became known Wednesday as health unit officials followed up on when additional vaccine is to be shipped.

"They just can't get it to us until the end of October or sometime in November, which would be about our normal time to do those," Clark said. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had encouraged health providers to give earlier-than-normal vaccination for the regular seasonal flu due to the H1N1 virus.

"It just wasn't working," Clark said of the desire to provide earlier vaccinations for the seasonal flu.

The health unit is still expecting to receive about 1,000 doses of the seasonal flu vaccine, she added. The unit held its first vaccination clinic of the fall last week.

"We had over 300 people at that first clinic. So we did get some out there and we did vaccinate some children too on some other days," Clark said.

Clark didn't know how much seasonal flu vaccine remained at Williston health providers. Williston's Trinity Community Clinic-Western Dakota nurse supervisor Charlene Strand is expecting to receive more seasonal flu vaccine late Thursday or Friday from Minot's Trinity Medical Center after running out Wednesday.

Strand said the clinic already has used 700 doses, but it also hasn't received its full shipment of the seasonal flu vaccine from its supplier.

"I don't know how many they can spare," Strand said of what she is expecting from Minot. "I'm hoping that someone can bring them up today."

Strand said patients can call the clinic to find out if the shipment has arrived and if they can get vaccinated.

Williston's Fairlight Medical Center does have seasonal flu vaccine, said business coordinator Chris Traeger.

"We still have quite a bit available. We actually have started our big push," Traeger said. "At any time, people can come in and get their flu shot."

Traeger said Fairlight also has the specialty seasonal flu shot for young children.
http://www.kfgo.com/regionalnews_Detail.php?ID=9815

“In the most recent weeks we’ve seen an increased number of the confirmed H1N1 cases,” said Michelle Feist, influenza surveillance coordinator for the North Dakota Department of Health. “Right now we’re seeing mostly novel H1N1 influenza.”

Last week, North Dakota recorded 28 confirmed swine flu cases. This week, 44 cases were confirmed, Feist said.

Dennis Cannon, spokesperson for St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center in Dickinson, said the hospital has tested quite a few people for swine flu and test results are taking about a week to get back from the state lab.

“We’ve had very few that have come back as H1N1,” Cannon said. “Influenza a and b is really mostly what we’re getting.”

Cass County has the highest number of swine flu incidents and Feist said it could be attributed to population.

Morton County saw two confirmed cases this week with the possibility of an additional seven.

“I think people minimize the severity of regular influenza,” Adams said. “We have over 400 cases per year of people who die in North Dakota from regular influenza.”

http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/ ... roup/News/

Schools in Fort Yates have closed for the rest of the week due to the large number of students absent, though school activities were not canceled. Superintendent Terry Yellow Fat said students and their families were asked not to come to the nearby clinic with flu symptoms because it was overwhelmed.

"We've got students with fevers in school, vomiting in some cases," Yellow Fat said Wednesday. "They're taken immediately home."

The three Standing Rock/Fort Yates Community Schools _ elementary, middle and high school _ have a total of more than 700 students on the reservation that straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border. About a third of the elementary students were absent Monday.

In Grafton, Superintendent Jack Maus said 57 of 282 high school students, along with 10 teachers and staff members and 55 of about 260 middle school students, were absent Wednesday with flu symptoms and colds. Cross country and volleyball practices, as well as a junior high football game, were canceled.

At Jamestown Middle School, officials said more than 90 students out of about 500 were absent Monday, compared with about 20 students at same time last year.

http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/ ... D9B6J1D81/

http://www.ndflu.com/

Data collection began September 1, 2009

Last Updated 10/14/2009

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's Health Department is reporting a big jump in flu cases over the past week.


The department reports 563 people have the flu compared with 159 last week at this time and only five from a year ago. Grand Forks health director Don Shields says the flu season is off to an early start and is hitting young people especially hard.

The figures show 476 of North Dakota's cases are age 29 or younger.

http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/25818/group/News/

The state health department reported Wednesday that cases of influenza had more than doubled in North Dakota in the past week, and that most cases were likely the H1N1 strain.

http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/cont ... 33487.html
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2009-2010 Reported Influenza Activity in North Dakota

Data collection began September 1, 2009

Last Updated 10/20/2009


2009-2010 Flu Summary
Total Cases * Age Information
Range Cases
Gender <10 428
Female 605 10-19 459
Male 611 20-29 161
30-39 65
Hospitalized 41 40-49 50
50-59 37
60 and over 16
Quick Statistics
Cases
Type A, Novel H1N1 148
Type A, H1 0
Type A, H3 1
Type A, Unspecified 1045
Type B 13
Unknown 9

Total 1216
http://www.ndflu.com/

http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/ ... D9BJ0F400/

ND reports 1st swine flu death

The Associated Press - BISMARCK, N.D.

State health officials say North Dakota's first swine flu-related death was a man older than 60 with other health problems.

The death was reported Monday. North Dakota's state health officer, Dr. Terry Dwelle (DWELL'-ee), said the victim was from northwestern North Dakota. Dwelle said he had not been vaccinated against the illness.

President Barack Obama has declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency. Officials say more than 1,000 people in the United States have died from it.

North Dakota health officials say the state has more than 1,200 confirmed flu cases and they estimate about 1,100 are cases of swine flu.

State disease specialist Kirby Kruger says it will be several weeks before North Dakota gets enough swine flu vaccine to make it generally available.