Rhiza Labs FluTracker Forum

Rolling in late tonight because of multiple stops (2 large buses - so it takes almost 2 hours per meal stop at crowded restaurants).

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Ugh! Dr. Niman, are you sure it was Universal and NOT Disney? We just got back from Disney, today and hubby is sure he saw this school marching there, not Universal. The parks (ALL including Disney and Universal) were filled to capacity with record number of visitors. Parks were closed early to additional visitors on several days, which apparently was unusual. Usually the one day: New Years Eve, this happens. But it was happening a couple of days prior. Really doesn't matter which park they were in, they were still mingling with HUGE numbers of people.

As an aside, our 17.5 y/o son was VERY ill during Christmas with an "unknown virus". We had him in the emergency room twice with fevers that averaged 102.5-103.5 for about 3 days. They found NOTHING in all the tubes of blood they drew, urine samples they took, swabs they sampled. Then he developed a rash on his body 'trunk' (no arms/legs). Last visit to ER they removed him from mega-dose antibiotics that he was on to see if he developed rash from that or from fever. Within 72 hours he was rash & fever free. Very strange holiday. And yes, he was tested for flu (and strep, and lymes disease and mono and Epstein-Barr virus). We live in Cumberland Valley/Cumberland County. -k

I originally thought they went to Disney, but then they were talking about Universal. Wherever they were, the fireworks at midnight Jan 1were canceled.
Sounds like you son is now doing well. I think there are MAJOR testing issues with trH3N2, but who knows what he had.
I am also not sure about Fox Chapel. Now they are saying the illnesses were all from too little sleep and too many activities. The kid vomitting was said to have eaten too much prior to a ride. Similarly, those complaining during the week were also said to be not feeling well because of the rides and lack of sleep.
Earlier one of my daughters asked about swine flu in Florida, so at one point she also thought several in the band had swine flu. Both daughters went to school today, and no one is talking about a swine flu outbreak, so again, I have no idea of what happened in Florida.

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Influenza activity remained sporadic during week 52; lab confirmed influenza has now been reported in 41 of 67 counties.

· 1% (1 in 100) of all doctor-visits reported by sentinel physicians were attributed to influenza-like illnesses (ILI), which is below the threshold (2.4%).

· Flu-related Emergency Department (ED) remain low in all regions.

· Influenza was not detected in all the respiratory specimens submitted to the state lab for confirmatory testing. A majority of flu-like illnesses, at this time, are due to rhinovirus, adenovirus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

· Eighteen (18) lab positive flu cases were reported, up from 7 reported the previous week. One hundred thirty four (134) total cases have been reported season-to-date.

· Five (5) flu-related hospitalization was reported during week 52, 27 have been reported season-to-date. Severity of illness in the cases reported thus far (length of stay, ICU admission rate, and fatality) appears to be similar to last season. No flu-related fatality has been reported this season.

· No flu-related outbreak was reported during week 52; one outbreak has been reported this season.

· Similar amounts of flu type A and B appear to be co circulating at this time.

· In addittion to seasonal flu viruses that are currently circulating, 3 rare human infections with influenza viruses of swine origin have been detected in Pennsylvania. These viruses very rarely infect humans and have not been known to be transmissible from human to human in the past. However, this virus has been detected more frequently in the last six months and recent investigations in Iowa suggest that the virus may be transmissible from human to human. Individuals with influenza-like illnesses who have had exposure to swine, directly or indirectly, should let their physicians know as such illness may be from this rare virus. Further information on this can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtm ... mm6047a3_w.

· A majority (>98%) of flu viruses characterized to date by CDC are similar to the strains included in the 2011-12 influenza vaccine.

· Getting vaccinated is still the most important thing one can do to prevent the flu and now, while flu activity is low, is a good time to get vaccinated.

· 26 hospitals and 11 long term care facilities have now been inducted into Pennsylvania healthcare worker vaccination honor roll for achieving near universal (>90%) vaccine coverage among their staff.

· The Pennsylvania Department of Health is collaborating with the Hospital and Health System association of Pennsylvania and other partners in urging all healthcare personnel to get vaccinated. Institutions achieving HCP vaccination rates of 90% or better are encouraged to contact the Department of Health. For additional information, including a toolkit to assist administrators in achieving the goal of universal HCW influenza vaccination, visit: http://www.haponline.org/quality/resour ... -campaign/ and http://pahcwfluvax.org/. A poster and video for encouraging hcw vaccination may be downloaded at Earn Your Stripes Video or ordered by contacting owsimwale@state.pa.us.

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Lab positive flu cases reported in Pennsylvania by county -10/2/11-12/31/11 (n=134)
County
No. of flu cases reported

ALLEGHENY
5

ARMSTRONG
1

BEAVER
1

BEDFORD
2

BERKS
1

BLAIR
5

BUCKS
3

BUTLER
1

CAMBRIA
5

CAMERON
1

CARBON
2

CHESTER
2

CLARION
1

CLEARFIELD
1

CLINTON
4

CRAWFORD
5

CUMBERLAND
1

DELAWARE
12

ELK
2

FAYETTE
2

FRANKLIN
5

JEFFERSON
1

LACKAWANNA
2

LANCASTER
1

LEBANON
2

LEHIGH
3

LUZERNE
2

LYCOMING
27

MIFFLIN
1

MONROE
3

MONTGOMERY
3

NORTHAMPTON
8

NORTHUMBERLAND
1

PHILADELPHIA
4

PIKE
2

POTTER
2

SCHUYLKILL
1

SULLIVAN
1

UNION
1

WASHINGTON
2

WESTMORELAND
5



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last season, 19, 190 cases of lab confirmed influenza were reported to the department of health.

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Daughter (18F) with no swine exposure has symptoms (headache, sore throat, stuffy nose, gastro, fatigue) since Saturday. Today she developed low grade fever (98.9 - normally her temperature is 97.0).

Wife diagnosis is "summer cold" with coincidental gastro problems.

Daughter has not been swabbed or seen MD. She is just "sleeping it off" (did not go to ultimate frisby practice yesterday or CMU robotics internship today).

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Daughter saw MD who (incorrectly) stated that swine flu caused fever of at least 102 F and feelings of being hit by truck.
No testing or treatment.

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Published: August 11, 2012 12:01 AM EST
Updated: August 11, 2012 12:21 AM EST

County fairs prepare for possible swine flu outbreak

By HERB SCRIBNER, Erie Times-News
herb.scribner@timesnews.com

Fairgoers, think twice before petting that pig.

A new strain of the swine flu has been making its way through different fairs across the country. There have been more than 150 documented cases of the H3N2 strain, and it recently reached Indiana and Ohio, according to the Associated Press.


There have been no reported cases in Pennsylvania.


Any animals at Pennsylvania fairs need a health certificate before entering the exhibit, said Samantha Krepps, spokeswoman for Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Krepps said pigs are checked daily for fevers. If any are sick, she said, they're not allowed on the fairgrounds.


Krepps urged visitors to any of the region's upcoming fairs to wash their hands constantly throughout the day. She suggested visitors carry antibacterial lotion and hand sanitizer.


People also shouldn't feed the animals or bring any food or drink into the exhibit areas, Krepps said.


The Crawford County Fair, which begins Aug. 18, will have on-site veterinarians during the week of the fair and during the arrival of the pigs, said David Dowler, a dairy agent with Crawford County Cooperative Extension.


Dowler said fair officials will continually observe the swine.


"I think it's pretty well taken care of overall," Dowler said.


It's the same for the Wattsburg-Erie County Fair, which kicks off Aug. 27.


The fair will have signs around the barns that advise attendees to wash their hands after touching pigs, said spokeswoman Missy Austin.


Austin said any sick pigs at the fair will be removed immediately.


Dr. Karen Martin, who works for the state's Department of Agriculture, said her department didn't see the new swine flu strain coming.


"We could have never planned ahead for this one," Martin said.


The new strain has a different genetic makeup than the H1N1 virus, said Charlotte Berringer, R.N., director of community health for the Erie County Health Department.


She said the primary transition is from pigs to humans.


"Consider wearing a mask if you're around a sick pig," she said.


Berringer said there have only been isolated cases of the disease spreading from human to human.


The Associated Press contributed to this report.
HERB SCRIBNER can be reached at 870-1676 or by e-mail.
http://www.goerie.com/article/20120811/ ... u-outbreak

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Pet a pig, wash your hands.

York County fair officials said they will be frequently reminding visitors next month of that advice to sanitize their hands after coming in contact with the farm animals.

That's because an outbreak of a mild form of H1N1 - or swine flu - has been connected to people who handled pigs at fairs in Ohio and Indiana.

"We're going to take extra efforts," said fair general manager Mike Froehlich.

The York Fair already requires all incoming animals to be inspected by a veterinarian. And the animals are monitored on site to make sure they don't show symptoms of illness, he said.

Signs and announcements will be made to tell people to wash their hands frequently. The fair runs Sept. 7-16.

There isn't any sort of panic, however, as this new strain of H1N1 flu has mild symptoms and it's not really spreading from person to person.

"This is not a pandemic situation," said Dr. Joseph Bresee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The national case count jumped from 29 a week ago to 158 this week, thanks to a wave of new cases in Indiana and Ohio, said Bresee, the agency's chief of influenza epidemiology.

Most of the infected patients are children - probably because many were working closely with raising, displaying and visiting pigs at the agricultural fairs, Bresee said.

The recent cases include at least 113 in Indiana, 30 in Ohio, one in Hawaii and one in Illinois, Bresee said in a conference call with reporters.

Pigs spread flu virus just like people do, with coughing, sneezing and runny noses, so people can get it by touching pigs or being near them.

Pregnant women, young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems should be particularly careful.

4-H no issue: York County already has one agricultural fair under way this month at the 4-H Center at 771 Stoverstown Road in West Manchester Township.

The York County 4-H Fair, which ends Monday, shouldn't have any issues, said Mary Jo Kraft, the 4-H director with Penn State Cooperative Extension.

They have pigs coming, but not until Monday and they are almost immediately going into the livestock auction.

"As long as people wash their hands, there's not going to be a problem," she said.

And that goes for coming in contact with any animal, Kraft said.

That tidbit will come in handy at the York Fair, which will have a new exotic animal exhibit this fall. Zebras, camels, antelopes and more will be at the fair, Froehlich said.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this story Reach Andrew Shaw at ashaw@yorkdispatch.com

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/ci_21284270 ... -swine-flu

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A new, milder strain of swine flu is sweeping through Indiana and Ohio, though not Pennsylvania, according to the state Health Department.

But with a number of farm shows and county fairs scheduled during the next few weeks with hundreds of pigs, organizers said they’re taking precautions to ensure the flu won’t hit Western Pennsylvania.

“I wouldn’t worry, but I would be concerned,” said Frank Skacel, a veterinarian and board member for the nine-day Westmoreland Fair that begins Friday. “The bottom line is, it’s been proven that with simple hygiene, you can prevent this from happening.”

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said the new strain, milder than the one that hit the United States in 2009, has made about 160 people sick within the last couple of weeks. It added that most cases are tied to pigs, but some resulted from one person passing it to another, though the virus seems to run its course before it reaches the second person.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said no new cases of swine flu have been reported in the state this year. Last year, three children contracted the flu after attending the Washington County Fair, but quickly recovered.

The Westmoreland Fair and Butler Farm Show take similar precautions, according to their organizers. Animals must be examined by a veterinarian before a show, and exhibitors must show paperwork that their animals are free of the virus.

When the animals are delivered to the shows, they are examined in their trailers. If they look sick, they’re sent home. Also, a state veterinarian checks the animals during the shows, which could include taking temperatures or blood samples.

Butler Farm Show officials said a state veterinarian took random samples from some of their pigs last week and didn’t find anything.

The facilities also have hand sanitizers, along with many signs urging people to wash their hands and take other precautions.

At the Butler County Farm Show, which ended Saturday, some who brought pigs for 4-H exhibitions said they had little to worry about.

“The 4-H clubs teach kids what to do, how to keep things clean, and what to look for,” said Ryan Swope, of Adams, Butler County, whose daughter Grace, 9, displayed pigs Daisy and Daffy Friday.

Exhibitors said they were satisfied sick animals would be turned away.

“When you have someone with a cold, you don’t want them going to school and getting the rest of the school sick,” said Matt Drobezko, 18, of West Liberty, who displayed pigs Diva and Gaga.

Skacel said a handful of animals are sent home from the Westmoreland Fair each year because of respiratory or intestinal problems, but he couldn’t remember a pig contracting swine flu. He said pigs that contract the virus are usually destroyed.

“These are prize animals. Trust me, if there’s something wrong with them, you hear about it.

If the exhibitors think there’s a problem, we check them out and see what we can do,” Skacel said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Bill Vidonic is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5621. or bvidonic@tribweb.com.

http://triblive.com/news/2382475-74/flu ... rol-county

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