Florida, Georgia, and Alabama are the three states on the CDC’s radar because of adult hospitalizations from the H1N1 flu
By Romney SmithTuesday, March 30, 2010 at 9:39 p.m.
The Center for Disease Control says adults in Georgia who are not diagnosed against the H1N1 virus are being hospitalized at the highest rate in the country.
The CDC is helping the Southwest Georgia Health Department investigate why so many adults are being hospitalized with the H1N1 flu. The CDC is looking at items like vaccination status, sex, race, underlying health conditions, and more to figure out if a pattern exists.
Dr. Brenda Greene with the Southwest Georgia Health Department has a theory on why we may be seeing an increase in hospitalizations. “We saw a lot of H1N1 in the fall and by the time the vaccine arrived people didn’t seem as alarmed by it because it had been circulating for quite some time at that point. That’s our theory at the moment, but we have no assurance of that” says Greene.
-snip-
http://www.mysouthwestga.com/news/story.aspx?id=437145
Rates of US Pandemic Influenza Vaccination Are Lowest in the South
April 1, 2010
At the end of January, 21.3% of the children of Georgia had been vaccinated against the pandemic A (H1N1) influenza virus, the lowest such immunization rate in the nation, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today.
In addition, when it comes to all individuals who were vaccinated, Georgia ranked fifth from the bottom, at 16.6%.
Lower vaccine uptake in Georgia and other southeastern states may help explain why the pandemic virus has produced an upswing in disease and hospitalization there over the past 2 months, Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, said at a press conference today. However, Dr. Schuchat noted that the rebound of the virus in that region also may represent the "third wave" of disease that public health officials have feared.
"It's possible (the rebound) is a herald for other states," she said.
Nationwide, the median vaccination rate for pandemic influenza was 23.9% for all individuals, 20.1% for those aged 18 years and older, and 36.8% for children aged 6 months to 17 years, according to the April 2 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The performance of individual states and regions varied widely. Rhode Island led the country, with an immunization rate for all individuals of 38.8% — 3 times that of Mississippi, which ranked last. The highest rates in all 3 categories occurred in New England, and the lowest in all categories were in the 5-state region consisting of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
The southeastern states, including Georgia, posted the second-worst immunization rate for all individuals, at 20.1%. Georgia's neighbor Alabama had a total immunization rate of 15.7%, tying the state with Missouri for third worst.
Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina have experienced a recent uptick in influenza-related illness, reporting regional influenza activity for the week ending March 27 that was one step below widespread activity. Hardest hit is Georgia, which has had more pandemic-related hospitalizations than any other state lately, and the most it has experienced since last October, when the virus was producing its second wave of illness nationwide. Since December 1, the virus has caused 357 hospitalizations and 22 deaths in that state, Dr. Schuchat said Thursday.
One reason why vaccination rates might be lower in Georgia and other southeastern states is that the second pandemic wave hit that region earlier than it did the rest of the country, Dr. Schuchat explained. By the time the pandemic influenza vaccine became available in large quantities, the wave had already passed, and demand for the vaccine waned as a result.
Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2010;59:363-368.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/719680
West Georgia Flu Update: 39% of People Hospitalized Require Breathing Machines to Stay Alive
April 1, 2010
New data shows that nearly 40 percent of those hospitalized for flu illnesses in West Georgia require breathing support to stay alive, according to Pam Fair of the West Central Health District.
It is mostly those with chronic illnesses that end up hospitalized for flu in West Georgia.
This news comes as the rest of the state has seen record highs in hospitalizations since September, outpacing the rest of the nation. Most of those hospitalized are unvaccinated adults.
Free H1N1 vaccines are still available at the health department: 2100 Comer Ave., 2nd Floor, in Columbus.
http://www2.wrbl.com/rbl/news/local/article/west_georgia_flu_update_39_of_people_hospitalized_require_breathing_machine/142227/
No comments:
Post a Comment