Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Swine Flu update

The CDC has learned of two cases of swine origin influenza A of the H3N2 strain in Minnesota and West Virginia. The WV case appears to have occurred in a young child and local health officials, in conjunction with the CDC, are investigating and testing other ill children. Those kids could have routine seasonal viruses, like RSV, another flu strain or the newest swine-origin flu to cross over to humans. Disease with this strain continues to be mild.

In NYC there isn't much flu around to speak of and all surveillance systems are at or below baseline. Stay tuned.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

http://www.cdc.gov/media/haveyouheard/stories/novel_influenza.html

http://www.dhhr.wv.gov/oeps/disease/flu/Pages/fluSurveillance.aspx

Monday, December 5, 2011

Another Swine Flu variant crosses over

It was reported last week that three children in Iowa contracted a swine-origin triple reassortment influenza A (H3N2). You may recall the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 started in the US in a similar fashion with cases in children in California and Texas before the HS outbreak in New York City. None of children were hospitalized and all recovered. Person-to-person transmission is suspected and these cases bring the total of swine-origin H3N2 infections in humans to 18. Because very few people with influenza actually get tested and diagnosed there likely have been more of these cases. What does it mean? Will there be another pandemic? As far as public health officials in Iowa can tell sustained transmission is not happening, so a pandemic seems unlikely. At least for now. Meanwhile, in NYC, the flu season hasn't yet arrived.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6047a3.htm?s_cid=mm6047a3_w