CARROLL COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

SWINE FLU UPDATE

5 May 2009

 

NATIONAL:  Cases of laboratory confirmed SF as of 11:00 am 5 May 2009 (Source CDC)

 

Alabama                       4                          Nebraska                      1                                      

Arizona                       17                          Nevada                        1                                       

California                    49                          NH                              1

Colorado                      6                           New Jersey                  6        

Connecticut                 2                            New Mexico               1

Delaware                    20                           New York                  90

Florida                         5                            North Carolina            1

Georgia                       1 (new)                  Ohio                            3

Idaho                           1                            Oregon                       15

Illinois                        82 (yesterday 8)     Pennsylvania               1 

Indiana                         3                           Rhode Island               1

Iowa                             1                           South Carolina           16

Kansas                         2                           Tennessee                     2

Kentucky                     1                           Texas                          41

Louisiana                     7                           Utah                             1

Maine                          1 (new)                 Virginia                        3

Maryland                     4                           Wisconsin                    3                    

Massachusetts             6

Michigan                     2                                   

Minnesota                   1

Missouri                      1                             TOTAL   403 (38 states)

 

 

 

 

MARYLAND: 

 

               Cases of CONFIRMED SF

·        Baltimore County            3

·        Anne Arundel County     1

 

Cases of PROBABLE SF

 

·        Anne Arundel County       3

·        Charles County                  1

·        Harford County                  1

·        Montgomery County          2

·        Prince George’s County     2

 

OTHER NOTES:

·        WHO’s Global Pandemic Phase remains at FIVE (SIX is highest).  Measures spread, not severity.  WHO has yet to see SUSTAINED human to human transmission.

·        Maryland has 1.2 million antiviral courses of treatment on hand or available.

·        To date, 99% of “probable” cases sent to CDC by state health departments have been laboratory confirmed as Swine Flu.

·        While today’s national count of confirmed cases is 403, there are over 700 PROBABLE cases in 44 states; probable cases more likely gives us a better understanding of the spread of the disease.

·        Median age of confirmed cases is 16 years with a range of 3 months to 81 years. 62% of the confirmed cases are under 18 years of age.  This could be due to how the virus was introduced, with more young people going to Mexico, spring break travel and then returning to the U.S.  CDC is studying.

·        There are 35 known hospitalizations in the U.S. 

·        The Southern Hemisphere is just entering its winter flu season.  WHO and CDC will be studying how the virus behaves to get some clues about what we can expect, especially in the Fall.

·        CDC is considering moving away from the focus on states/numbers of cases and more toward reporting the distribution across the country in the way it annually tracks and reports the seasonal flu, usually with various shaded maps of the U. S.

 

CURRENT PUBLIC HEALTH RECOMMENDATION FOR A CARROLL COUNTY RESPONSE:

·        Nothing new from last Friday.  Still no response from DHMH as to clarifying school closure process/authority as reported yesterday.  NOTE:  CDC reported yesterday that closing schools as a means of preventing the disease’s spread through the community is not effective.  Possibly looking to revise its current school closure recommendations.