2014-2015 FLU SEASON

[dothedd]

FLU VIEW

Synopsis:

During week 49 (November 30-December 6, 2014), influenza activity continued to increase in the United States.

Viral Surveillance:Of 16,093 specimens tested and reported by U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories during week 49, 3,415 (21.2%) were positive for influenza.

Pneumonia and Influenza Mortality: The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the epidemic threshold.
Influenza-associated Pediatric Deaths: Two influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported.

Influenza-associated Hospitalizations: A cumulative rate for the season of 3.8 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations per 100,000 population was reported.

Outpatient Illness Surveillance: The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 2.5%, above the national baseline of 2.0%. Eight of 10 regions reported ILI at or above region-specific baseline levels. Puerto Rico and six states experienced high ILI activity; two states experienced moderate ILI activity; seven states experienced low ILI activity; New York City and 35 states experienced minimal ILI activity; and the District of Columbia had insufficient data.

Geographic Spread of Influenza: The geographic spread of influenza in 14 states was reported as widespread; Guam, Puerto Rico and 25 states reported regional activity; the U.S. Virgin Islands and seven states reported local activity; and the District of Columbia and four states reported sporadic activity.


www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

[The Captain]

In my area schools are reporting absenteeism due to the flu at rates ranging from 10% to 25%.  A few schools have been closed for a few days so they can go in and wipe everything down.

DD's school sent a note home Monday - they have the flu, some type of respiratory virus, pink eye, and three cases of the mumps going around.  The principal actually had to remind parents to keep sick kids home.

Blech.

 

[dothedd]

Dec 17, 2014 17:43:00 GMT -5 The Captain said:

In my area schools are reporting absenteeism due to the flu at rates ranging from 10% to 25%.  A few schools have been closed for a few days so they can go in and wipe everything down.

DD's school sent a note home Monday - they have the flu, some type of respiratory virus, pink eye, and three cases of the mumps going around.  The principal actually had to remind parents to keep sick kids home.

Blech.

 

                   Thank you for the update!  

[dothedd]

Flu vaccines are only 23% effective this season — bad news in a particularly harsh year for the virus, health officials said Thursday.

Flu shots normally prevent 60% to 65% of infections serious enough for people to see a doctor.

This year's influenza vaccines are less effective than usual, however, because the viruses used to make them aren't a good match for the viruses now spreading across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Scientists select the viruses to be used in flu vaccines in the spring, in order to give manufacturers enough time to produce the vaccines. But this year, scientists noticed that influenza A (H3N2) — the dominant strain in circulation — began mutating almost immediately.

About 68% of these viruses have now "drifted" to be genetically different from the flu viruses used in vaccines, the CDC said.

The H3N2 virus is especially nasty and usually causes twice as many hospitalizations and deaths compared to other viruses, the CDC said. Even in a year with a "good match" between virus and vaccine, flu shots tend to be less effective against H3N2, preventing only about 40% of infections, said Arnold Monto, an influenza expert and professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

"This speaks to the fact that we need better flu vaccines," Monto said.

Flu shots have always been less effective than other vaccines, such as measles. Two doses of measles vaccine prevent 99% of infections.

Researchers are trying to develop a "universal" flu vaccine that would last for many years. To do this, scientists would have to try to stimulate immunity against proteins inside a flu virus, which don't change from year to year, Monto said. Now, flu vaccines aim to produce immunity against proteins on the surface of the flu virus, which change all the time.

A universal flu vaccine is still many years away, however, Monto said.

The CDC still recommends that people get flu shots. Fewer than half of Americans have been vaccinated this year, slightly less than usual, according to the CDC.

Even a less effective vaccine can still prevent thousands of hospitalizations, especially among seniors. Young people — who often think they don't need a flu shot — can help protect seniors and other vulnerable people by getting vaccinated, Monto said. That's because vaccination reduces the amount of viruses in circulation, so there is just less flu to make people sick, Monto said.

Although the USA is about halfway through the flu season, viruses will likely continue to circulate for six weeks or so, the CDC said.

CDC officials note that flu vaccines protect against three to four different strains of flu viruses. So a flu vaccine may protect people against different strains of virus, such as influenza B, which often shows up late in the season.

The CDC is also urging patients and health providers to make greater use of antiviral drugs, such as Tamiflu and Relenza. If taken within the first 24 to 48 hours after symptoms appear, antivirals can reduce the length of time that people are sick by one or two days, Monto said. Antivirals also reduce the risk of serious complications and hospitalizations. They may offer some benefit even after 48 hours, especially in elderly people.

"They work, but they aren't widely used," Monto said.

"They work, but they aren't widely used," Monto said.

[dothedd]

More than three quarters of U.S. flu shots ineffective-report 

Thu, Jan 15 2015 

CHICAGO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - More than three-quarters of Americans who got this season's flu shot could get the virus anyway, given a mismatch between the flu strains covered by the shot and those actually causing illness in people, U.S. officials said.

An interim CDC report found the shot was only 23 percent effective overall, a performance about in line with what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted last year, experts said. At the time, CDC warned that the predominant flu virus, influenza A (H3N2), had "drifted" or changed genetically since the shot was made.

Effectiveness varies widely by age, working best in young, healthy people and least well in the elderly, a pattern reflected in the report released Thursday.

It showed effectiveness against H3N2 viruses was highest - at 26 percent - among children aged 6 months to 17 years. It was roughly 12 percent effective in people 18-49 and 14 percent effective in those 50 and older, but those estimates were not statistically significant because there was too little data at this point in the flu season.

"These estimates of vaccine efficacy are doleful, and they are entirely consistent with what the CDC told us they were likely to be based on the studies in the lab," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

Since the CDC started doing flu vaccine studies in the 2004-2005 flu season, overall effectiveness has ranged from 10 percent to 60 percent.

The results reflect limitations in the current shots, in which flu strains for the Northern Hemisphere are selected in late February of the prior year, giving manufacturers roughly six months to make the vaccines from scratch before the start of the flu season in August.

Schaffner said this year's predictions of which virus would be dominant were fairly accurate, in that the shot contains H3N2, a subtype associated with more severe flu seasons. The problem was that the circulating version of H3N2 mutated just enough to reduce vaccine effectiveness.


CDC epidemiologist Brendan Flannery said H3 viruses can change from year to year, but "this is a pretty major one."

"There are some years when the virus drifts and the vaccine still provides pretty good protection. This is not one of those years," he said.

CDC still recommends vaccination because the virus could shift again before the flu season ends. For those who become sick, CDC recommends prompt treatment with antivirals such as Roche's Tamiflu.

[dothedd]

WE WELCOME YOUR LOCAL FLU REPORTS!

[dothedd]

www.tamiflu.com/flu-to-dos/ask-your-doctor

[dothedd]

18 die in Hong Kong as flu outbreak claims highest number of victims in one day

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 18 February, 2015, 12:52am

UPDATED : Wednesday, 18 February, 2015, 9:49am

15 Feb 2015

Visitors and medical staff wear surgical masks at the accident and emergency unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei amid the flu outbreak. Photo: Nora Tam
Eighteen more influenza patients died on Tuesday - the most in a single day since the epidemic began. The flu death toll for the year is now at 228.

The government said high-risk groups such as the elderly and chronically ill would be given priority for a vaccine against the predominant H3N2 virus, which is expected to arrive in April.

Some 322 serious flu cases have been reported since January, the Centre for Health Protection said.

Controller Dr Leung Ting-hung said there was still a high number of serious cases. "The flu surge will remain for some time," Leung said, after meeting the centre's vaccine committee.

But fewer patients have tested positive for flu in laboratory checks this week. The percentage fell from 34 per cent last week to about 30 per cent this week.

Health officials said those most susceptible would be given the H3N2 vaccine first when it arrived in the city. Dr Chow Chun-bong, chairman of the vaccine committee, said: "Most deaths are elderly patients, aged 85 or above … so we'll give priority for the vaccine according to age."

Leung noted that it was necessary to give priority because the vaccine supply was limited.

"Originally these vaccines were destined for the southern hemisphere. Supply for the northern hemisphere is limited," Leung said. He added that the stocks due to arrive in April would not be enough to meet demand in the city.

Medical staff would be a lower priority, since there was not a huge problem with outbreaks in hospitals. "Health-care workers are not considered to be among the high-risk group," Chow said. But people working in aged-care homes or intensive care units would be encouraged to get vaccinated, he said.

Chow also said that another flu surge was expected in summer, but on a smaller scale.

And health minister Dr Ko Wing-man warned that the current outbreak was not over yet, even if there were fewer people testing positive for the flu virus.

"The drop in positive samples could be because more people are leaving the city for the holiday," said Ko after inspecting the Prince of Wales and Tuen Mun hospitals yesterday to assess how well prepared they were for the Lunar New Year break. Ko urged hospitals to prepare for more patients when people returned from holiday, when wards were likely to fill up again.


This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as 18 more flu deaths as city waits for vaccine