Rhiza Labs FluTracker Forum

The flu season is nearing an end, but state health officials are still reporting cases of the pandemic H1N1 strain causing hospitalizations and even deaths.

Last week, the 99th person in North Carolina died of complications from H1N1 flu, and 376 people were hospitalized.

"We are still seeing a low level of activity," said Dr.Megan Davies, state epidemiologist. She said the virus remains a particular threat to people at high risk of complications, including those with chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes, children and pregnant women.

Since April, when the flu first struck in North Carolina, the virus crowded out other competing strains so that all influenza illnesses tested across the state turned out to be H1N1, Davies said.

Most deaths occurred among people in high risk groups, and younger than 65. That's unusual for influenza, which typically strikes older people with more severe illness.

But things could be worse. In neighboring Georgia, flu cases have spiked in recent weeks, and officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest the continuing infections could be the result of low vaccination rates in that state.

In North Carolina, 18 percent of the population, or 1.7 million people, got H1N1 flu shots or nasal inoculations, Davies said. The vaccination rate was higher than for a normal flu season.

"I'm confident we averted some very bad outcomes through vaccination," Davies said.

Still, thousands of doses of unused vaccine will be destroyed. Demand for the vaccine waned as the supply improved after initial rationing.

Davies said people could still benefit from flu shots, which are available free at county health departments.

"I think it's probably still worth getting vaccinated for a little while longer," she said. "We're still hearing reports of deaths, and this probably will go on for weeks."

Next year's seasonal flu shot will target the H1N1 strain, along with two others. Davies said people who were vaccinated against the virus this year, and those who got sick, have immunity to H1N1, but they will need a seasonal flu shot for protection against the other strains of influenza that are likely to circulate.

Across the nation, more than 12,000 people have died from infections attributed to H1N1, which spread across the globe last spring.

savery@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4882


Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/31/ ... z0jk5zKbu4

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www.twitter.com/hniman

http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/gcdc/flu0910.html

260 hospitalisations 28/3-3/4/10 3 new deaths, cumulative 102

I should post the month first followed by the date but in the UK it's the other way around..

Table 1. NC Flu-Associated Hospitalizations and Deaths
April 6, 2010 – 3:00 p.m.

Hospitalizations for ILI (Influenza-Like Illness) 3/28/10-4/3/10 New Flu Deaths 3/28/10-4/3/10 Total Flu Deaths
Since April 2009*
260 3 102

*Includes H1N1 flu deaths April - Sept. 26, 2009 (13) and all flu deaths since Sept. 27, 2009
Starting Sept. 27, 2009 North Carolina expanded reporting of flu deaths and hospitalizations to cover all hospitalizations for influenza-like illness (ILI) and all deaths related to influenza, whether seasonal flu or pandemic H1N1 flu. As of Sept. 26, 2009, a total of 13 deaths and 267 hospitalizations attributed to laboratory-confirmed pandemic H1N1 flu had been reported in North Carolina.

Influenza-associated deaths are based on reports from doctors and local health departments of people who died from an illness identified as influenza (either seasonal or pandemic) through medical testing. In previous years, only pediatric flu deaths were reported. Reporting of all flu-related deaths, including those in adults, is now required.

Hospitalizations for influenza-like-illness (ILI) are based on electronic monitoring of the number of patients with ILI who are admitted to hospitals through emergency departments. ILI is not the same as laboratory confirmed influenza. Patients who are identified as having ILI might have other diseases, so this number may overestimate the actual number of influenza hospitalizations, but is useful for monitoring trends.

To view numbers of Influenza-Like Illness Hospitalizations from previous weeks, please see the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Summary.

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Praemonitus, Praemunitus..Forewarned is Forearmed.

Seemed in good health Friday evening
Diagnosed with pneumonia over the weekend
Died at home on Tuesday.


http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/0 ... -dies.html

Bechtler Museum's curator dies unexpectedly at age 56



Michael Godfrey, instrumental in assembling the artworks and bringing to life the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, died unexpectedly at his home, the museum said Wednesday.

Godfrey, 56, fell ill over the weekend and was diagnosed with pneumonia. He was resting at his Charlotte home when he died Tuesday, said Pam Davis, the Bechtler’s marketing director.

“We are all shocked,” she said. “He’s irreplaceable.”

Godfrey was at the museum for a celebration of the Bechtler’s first late-night Friday opening last week and seemed in good health then, Davis said.

Godfrey’s latest project was preparing a show at the Bechtler scheduled for September on modern artists in post-World War II in Paris.

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/0 ... z0kTwFZIOj

Another D225G case?

And another rapid death.

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Praemonitus, Praemunitus..Forewarned is Forearmed.

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Praemonitus, Praemunitus..Forewarned is Forearmed.

_________________
Praemonitus, Praemunitus..Forewarned is Forearmed.

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Praemonitus, Praemunitus..Forewarned is Forearmed.

Raleigh, N.C. — A 15-year-old died Wednesday of complications from influenza, becoming North Carolina's first fatality of the flu season, public health officials said Thursday.

“The death of this healthy young person is a tragic reminder of the potentially devastating effects flu can have on people at any age,” State Health Director Dr. Jeff Engel said in a statement. “Most flu infections can be prevented by getting the vaccine. Flu vaccine is readily available and affordable this year, and is the single most effective way to protect yourself and your loved ones.”

The teen who died hadn't received a flu shot this year, officials said.

Statewide surveillance shows that flu is now widespread in North Carolina. The southeastern U.S. has had most of the flu activity nationwide so far this season, officials said.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/8967838/

Two NC flu deaths surprise experts

Raleigh, N.C. — The flu is widespread in North Carolina and has caused two deaths this season, experts say.

A year after the H1N1 scare, a mix of H1N1 and types A and B of the flu is circulating in North Carolina. About half of the cases are from the Type B strain.

Type B flu has also been connected to two deaths, a fact that surprised experts.

"Type A and B can cause serious disease. It's said in most years that B is milder, but this year, it doesn't appear to be so," said Dr. David Weber, an infectious disease expert with the University of North Carolina School of Public Health.

The current flu vaccine includes protection from Type B influenza, as well as H1N1 and Type A.