H1N1 still active, vaccine plentiful

The first in a series of five open-to-the-public lectures by the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health was held on Tuesday at Quail Creek and focused on the H1N1 pandemic.

An infectious disease epidemiologist and assistant professor Kacey Ernst, Ph.D. explained the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic.

“An epidemic is an increase above the norm with a larger segment of the population exposed. A pandemic is when an epidemic spreads across continents with a much larger population exposed.”

In the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic there were 20 million deaths. The Asian flu pandemic of 1957 and the Hong Kong flu pandemic of 1968 each resulted in one million deaths.

The current H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic has reported 12,220 deaths to date.

Ernst said seasonal flu typically affects five to 20 percent of the U.S. population and about 20,000 patients are hospitalized each year.

For a strain of flu to become a pandemic the virus must be able to replicate in humans and cause disease and be efficiently transmitted from one person to another.

Most transmissions are on the hands, hard surfaces and from sneezing.

“With the flu, you can feel fine and be transmitting it one day before you feel sick… the virus is most active when the fever is high and it’s important to isolate yourself,” Ernst said.

As of Jan. 2 the World Health Organization has reported 565,060 cases of H1N1 and 12,220 deaths worldwide.

Since April 2009 there have been 8,519 cases of H1N1 flu in Arizona’s 15 counties. There were 1,724 people (20.2 percent) hospitalized and 137 (1.61 percent) deaths.

Ernst said 62 percent of those hospitalized and 85 percent of deaths had underlying medical conditions.

It’s important to practice good hand hygiene (wash hands with soap and water rubbing for 20 seconds), respiratory etiquette (using a tissue, sneezing into elbow) and social distancing (cancellation of large gatherings) as needed.

In closing Ernst said it takes about 30 days after getting the H1N1 vaccine for it to be effective.

What does H1N1 mean?

H stands for hemagglutinin and N stands for neuraminidase and are proteins that compose the virus. All influenza A viruses contain hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, but the structure of these proteins differ from strain to strain due to rapid genetic mutation in the viral genome.

Contact Green Valley freelance reporter Ellen Sussman at ellen2414@cox.net.

LECTURES

Upcoming lectures are open to the public and are held in the Silver Room at Quail Creek from 4:30 to 5:30.

Tues. Feb. 9: Germiest Places in the Home

Tues. Mar. 9: Bone Health

Tues. Apr. 13: Medicine in the Media

Tues. May 11: Antioxidants and Health

COMPLACENCY A CONCERN AT CDC

The Centers for Disease Control is encouraging more people and particularly those considered to be at high risk for complications—adults with chronic complications, seniors, children and pregnant women—to get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus and promoted its importance during National Influenza Vaccine Week Jan. 10-16.

In a recent CNN Health Report, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at CDC Dr. Anne Schuchat said many people are still susceptible and there’s a good supply of the H1N1 vaccine in the U.S.

Delaware, New Jersey, Maine and Virginia are still reporting widespread H1N1 activity and as of Jan. 8 Schuchat reports that while there is a decline in people getting sick there is more flu activity than usual for this time of year—and it’s all H1N1 as seasonal flu strains haven’t yet emerged.

Schuchat is concerned that people may be complacent and think the pandemic is over. “We want to avoid complacency,” she said.