Confirmed/Suspected Cases in New York State outside NYC

[appleblossom]

I apologize if this is duplicate information. Please delete or move as needed.

Reported by the Ithaca Journal:

1 Probable case of H1N1 flu in Cortland county NY
3 possible cases in Steuben County NY

http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...NTPAGECAROUSEL

Reported by Democrat and Chronicle:

Suspected Rochester, NY area cases at 13
Monroe County - 7 suspected
Ontario County - 4 suspected
Wayne County - 3 suspected ... (total 14?)

State Health Commissioner says 75 potential cases outside of NYC being investigated

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...022/1002/RSS01

Reported by the Post Standard:

1 case confirmed in Onondaga County student, Fabius-Pompey High School closed

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.s..._flu_case.html

Reported by The Buffalo News

1 probable case and 1 suspected in Chautauqua County, Bemus Point area, schools in district closed
1 suspected in Genesee County
2 suspected in Niagara county
1 suspected in Wyoming County

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/657582.html

Reported by WWNY TV in Watertown, NY

4 potential cases in Lewis County

http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/43890307.html

[beudant]

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbc.../NEWS/90430046


GOSHEN — A New York City firefighter has the second probable case of swine flu identified in Orange County, state and county officials said Thursday, a day after the first case was announced.

The first instance involved a nursing assistant at The Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation in Goshen. County officials have said the worker vacationed in Mexico, where the disease is believed to have originated, and returned to work at the county-run nursing home for several days last week before going home ill.

On Thursday, officials said three Valley View residents were being tested for swine flu after exhibiting mild, flu-like symptoms. They have promised to treat all 360 residents with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu and offer the same medication to all 550 employees of the facility.

The Orange County Health Department has screened more than 30 potential flu cases and sent swabs from three patients to a state laboratory near Albany, resulting in the two “probable” diagnoses of swine flu. Those results must be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State officials announced Thursday they will no longer test samples in counties where swine flu has already been identified unless the patient has been hospitalized or is severely ill.

The three Valley View residents tested on Thursday don’t fit that description. County spokesman Richard Mayfield said their samples were taken anyway as a precaution, because of the potential for flu outbreaks in a nursing home.

A state Health Department spokeswoman said there were now eight probable cases and 89 suspected cases of swine flu in New York outside of New York City, where at least 50 people were sickened by an outbreak at a private school in Queens.

[appleblossom]

New York State H1N1 updates May 4, 2009

Reported by Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, NY:

Monroe County cases drop by one to 15 suspected, 1 probable

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...D=200990503010

Confirmed or probable cases 79 in New York City and 16 in the rest of the state, for a total of 95. The 16 are in the following counties: two in Westchester, one in Monroe, one in Cortland, three in Orange, one in Lewis, one in Chautauqua, three in Nassau and four in Suffolk. CDC confirms 50 in NYC.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...=2009905030358

Reported by Associated Press:

NY State health officials say 17 "probable or confirmed" cases of H1N1 outside NYC. Ed Smith Elementary in Syracuse closed with probable case of swine flu. Deer Park Union Free School District on Long Island closing with 3 probable cases of swine flu

http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/20...testnews04.txt

Reported by WWNY TV in Watertown, NY:

2 suspected H1N1 cases in Lewis County submitted to a lab in Albany April 30 have come back negative. There is one probable Lewis County case that was submitted to CDC in Atlanta.

http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/44173512.html

Reported by NY1 News:

H1N1 Continues to Spread Across State, Most Cases Still Mild

...."We're seeing this all over the state, even sparsely populated counties, where clearly the public health and medical establishment are on the alert," said New York State Health Commissioner Richard Daines.

During Sunday's press conference, (Governor David) Paterson also pointed out that the cases in New York have not been as severe as in Mexico, with only two hospitalizations. He said the timing of this outbreak, at the end of the normal flu season, gives officials a chance to prepare for a possible second wave in the future.
"It would give us time hopefully to develop antibodies to create a vaccine but also in some cases in the past the flu has come back stronger and more devastating so this is the reason, we don't want any alarm, that we are maintaining an alert and are spending resources and treating this as a serious situation," said Paterson....

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stori...d/Default.aspx

[appleblossom]

H1N1 news is getting harder to find. Most sources I'm using are no longer publishing numbers for suspected cases in the state. This may be related to the decision to suspend testing in areas where there are confirmed cases, and focus only on pinpointing spread of the virus to new areas.

[appleblossom]

Reported by the Finger Lakes Times 5/3/09

FL cases are not swine flu

By AMANDA FOLTS and CRAIG FOX / afolts@fltimes.com
Sunday, May 3, 2009 12:10 AM CDT

Test results came back negative for five of the six suspected swine flu cases in Ontario and Wayne counties.

As of Friday, test results on the sixth person, an Ontario County resident, were pending.

The lab work confirmed that the other cases — three in Ontario County cases and two Wayne County — were not swine flu

Mary Beer, Ontario County’s public health director, said Friday that the virus could still turn up in the county.

“We still expect to have some cases, but, so far, none,” Beer said after a conference call with state Department of Health officials.

To be tested for swine flu, Beer said, a person must have flu symptoms, a fever of 100.4 degrees or more and have traveled to an area known to be infected. Of the four people in Ontario County who were tested, three had traveled to New York City and the fourth to Mexico.

An e-mail from the Wayne County Public Health Department confirmed that neither of the two suspected cases there turned out to be swine flu. Wayne County isn’t currently testing anyone else.

One of the suspected cases was a Palmyra-Macedon High School student who had recently taken a trip to Mexico and was out of school until the test results came back.

A message on the district’s Web site from Superintendent Robert Ike asked people who think they may have swine flu to stay home.

Ike couldn’t be reached for comment.

Neither Yates nor Seneca counties have reported any suspected cases of swine flu.

According to the Associated Press, as of yesterday, there were 184 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States and one death in Texas.

Sixty-two of those cases were in New York.


http://fltimes.com/articles/2009/05/...e889709010.txt

[appleblossom]

Reported by WRGB CBS 6 in Albany, NY:

Suspect H1N1 cases in Albany County return negative

May 4, 2009 - 10:27 AM

The Albany County Health Department says four of the five suspect H1N1 cases it sent to the state lab for testing have returned negative for the virus.

An additional suspect case was just sent to the state Wadsworth Center Laboratories yesterday; results for that case are still pending.

The county health department says there's no sign the virus could be in the county, noting there has not been an increase in influenza-like illness in the county.

http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/suspect-1263013-county-sent.html

[appleblossom]

New York State updates 5/4/09:

Reported by WBNG TV in Binghamton, NY

Cortland County confirms one case of H1N1, no other suspect cases in Cortland county, no increase in reports of flu-like illness

http://www.wbng.com/news/local/44302347.html

Reported by the Buffalo News

Chautauqua County case confirmed as swine flu

http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/660526.html

Reported by the Messenger Post in Canandaigua, NY
(crosslink with the Flutrackers U.S. hospitalizations thread)

Suspected Swine Flu Patient Hospitalized in Wayne County
State expands guidelines for H1N1 testing to include those who are hospitalized and test positive for Influenza A, even if they have not traveled to Mexico, NYC, or target areas
Fourth pending suspected case in Ontario county has been ruled out as being swine flu

http://www.mpnnow.com/news/x407220025/Suspected-swine-flu-patient-hospitalized

[appleblossom]

Reported by WETM 18 in Elmira, NY:

3 New Suspected Swine Flu Cases in Steuben County


Reported by: Jeff Stone
Email: JStone@WETMTV.com
Last Update: 5/02 12:02 am

Health officials say there are three new suspected cases of the Swine Flu virus in Steuben County. The cases were announce Friday. Two of them are located in the Corning area. The other is in Hornell.

All three are currently being tested and health officials are awaiting results to confirm whether they actually have the virus. Health officials on Friday also announced that the three suspected cases in Hornell that they announced Thursday were not Swine Flu. Tests showed all three people tested negative for the virus. However one of those cases did test positive for the seasonal flu.

http://www.wetmtv.com/news/local/sto...8KPV8G0tQ.cspx

[appleblossom]

Reported by WWNY TV in Watertown, NY:

Swine Flu Suspected, Sandy Creek Cancels School

Story Published: May 4, 2009 at 8:47 PM EDT
Story Updated: May 4, 2009 at 8:52 PM EDT

The Sandy Creek school district will shut its doors Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the school's web site Monday night. The reason: a suspected case of swine flu. No further details were available Monday night. District officials also said the school prom is canceled, but may be rescheduled.

The announcement from Sandy Creek marked the first time a north country school has closed because of swine flu concerns. In lewis County, officials are waiting for official confirmation from a federal laboratory of one case of swine flu. Jefferson County reports no potential cases. Two suspected cases of swine flu in St. Lawrence County have been tested on the state level.
According to interim County Public Health Director Deborah Kent, the results are negative.

Kent wants to remind residents that free flu shots are available at public health, but the vaccine doesn't protect against the H1N1 strain.

http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/44303657.html

[appleblossom]

New York State updates for 5/5/09:

Reported by the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, NY:

Monroe County's first confirmed case of swine flu recovered, still awaiting state lab results on 14 suspected cases in Monroe.
Nationwide, 286 cases have been confirmed, including 73 in New York.
Wayne County reported that one hospitalized patient tested positive for Type A flu, of which swine flu is a subtype, nose swab sent for state testing.
Seneca County reported its first case of suspected swine flu on Monday.
Genesee County has two suspected cases.
Wyoming County has one suspected case.

http://democratandchronicle.com/arti...wine+flu+cases

Reported by the Post Standard in Syracuse, NY:

Ed Smith School in Syracuse will close for 1 week after Onandaga County's first confirmed swine flu case

http://www.syracuse.com/today/index....acuses_ed.html

Reported by The Saratogian in Saratoga Springs, NY:

Suspected case in Saratoga County tests negative, no other suspected cases

http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2...9909116082.txt

Reported by the Rome Sentinel in Rome, NY:

4 suspected cases in Oneida County negative for swine flu, no other samples awaiting testing

http://RomeSentinel.com/news?newsid=20090504-141206

[appleblossom]

New York State case update 5/5/09:


Reported by The Post Standard in Syracuse, NY:

Fabius-Pompey and Ed Smith Schools to Reopen Wednesday after CDC changes guidelines on school closings today.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/2_schools_to_reopen_thursday.html

Reported by WWNY TV 7 in Watertown, NY:

Sandy Creek School to Open Wednesday
Lewis County officials waiting for official confirmation from a federal laboratory of one case of swine flu.
Jefferson County reports no potential cases.
State level tests of 2 suspected St. Lawrence County cases have come back negative.

http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/44303657.html

Reported by the Times-Herald Record covering the Hudson Valley:

Minisink teen identified as third Orange County swine flu case. A New York City firefighter and a nursing assistant at the county-run nursing home had the county’s other two confirmed cases.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbc.../NEWS/90505049

Reported by the Star Gazette in Elmira, NY:

Possible swine flu case reported near Bath, NY
Test results for 2 suspected cases in the Corning area last week were negative
Results from a suspected case in the Hornell area still awaited. Test results from 3 prior suspected cases in the Hornell area were negative.
Chemung County's policy is not to release information on suspected cases unless they become probable or confirmed.

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20090505/NEWS01/905050391/1113


Reported by the Daily Star in Oneonta, NY

Delaware County reports first suspected swine flu case, specimen sent to state lab.
Otsego and Chenango Counties have each had previous suspected cases prove negative.

http://www.thedailystar.com/local/lo...125001035.html

Reported by the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, NY:

Madison County officials awaiting results on 3 suspected swine flu cases. Only one of the three cases had been previously announced. Currently there are no increased reports of flu-like illness or severity of illness in Madison County.

http://www.uticaod.com/news/x845565603/Officials-awaiting-results-on-3-suspect-swine-flu-cases

[appleblossom]

New York State case updates 5/6/09:

Reported by the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, NY:

Genesee County suspected case tests negative.
2 new suspected cases in Ontario county being tested.
20 total suspected cases in the Rochester area awaiting test results.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...=2009905060339

Reported by the Times Herald-Record in the Hudson Valley:

Westchester County has 2 more likely cases, both children in Rye. Rye County Day School shut down for 2 weeks. These are the third and fourth likely cases in Westchester. Last week 2 likely cases occurred in 2 other children in Rye.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbc.../NEWS/90505012

Reported by CBS 6 (WRGB) in Albany, NY:

2 new Westchester cases are confirmed by CDC.

http://www.cbs6albany.com/articles/w...new-cases.html


***FYI: I found this older article published 3/12/09, before the swine flu news hit, by WWNY TV in Watertown, NY:

Lafargeville School facing "Sickness Wave". School officials cancelled Friday classes to give everyone a 3 day weekend to recover. Many students and some staff were out with "flu or pneumonia or stomach ailments".

http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/41173302.html

[appleblossom]

New York State case updates 5/7/09:

As of 7:00AM on Thursday 5/7/09, here are the New York state case numbers.

Confirmed H1N1 Cases:

Chautauqua - 1
Cortland - 1
Lewis - 1
Monroe - 1
Nassau - 3
Onondaga - 1
Orange- 3
Suffolk - 4
Westchester - 2

Suspected flu cases with results still pending:

Albany - 1
Chautauqua - 1
Delaware - 1
Genesee - 1
Lewis - 4
Madison - 3
Monroe - 14
Niagra - 2
Ontario - 2
Oswego - 1
Seneca - 1
Steuben - 3
Wayne - 1 (hospitalized)
Westchester - 5
Wyoming - 1

*Chemung is not reporting suspected cases.

Reported by The Journal News in the Lower Hudson Valley:

Rye Students return to classes after apparent swine flu outbreak

http://lohud.com/article/20090507/NE...0402/-1/SPORTS

To give some perspective on reported case numbers and New York State H1N1 testing policies, here are comments by NYC Mayor Bloomberg reported in CDC H1N1 Briefing Transcript for Wednesday May 6, 2009

Operator: Elizabeth Weise with USA Today, your line is open.
Elizabeth Weise: Hi, thanks for taking my call. I actually a question about the number of cases in
Illinois, which has jumped and is now the highest in the nation. I know part of that's testing artifact,
because they just got their kits over the weekend, but do your folks there have any sense of why
Illinois has even more cases than New York at this point?
Richard Besser: No I would have to refer you to the folks in Illinois to understand the testing
dynamic. Mayor Bloomberg was here visiting CDC a little while ago and his comment when he
was meeting with the media was you want 200 more cases? We will test 200 more people. And so,
you may see in different places different approaches and strategies to testing. And so I don't know
the specifics on Illinois, but I'd refer to you them on that. But differences you will see by state are
have to do with viruses and transmission. Some are going to do have to be much more where they
are in ramping up their laboratory testing capability and what they report out.

http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2009/t090506.htm

[appleblossom]

New York State case updates 5/7/09:

As of 1:00PM on Thursday 5/7/09, here are the New York state case numbers.

Confirmed H1N1 Cases (outside NYC):

Chautauqua - 1
Cortland - 1
Lewis - 1
Monroe - 1
Nassau - 3
Onondaga - 1
Orange- 3
Suffolk - 4
Westchester - 2

Suspected flu cases with results still pending (outside NYC):

Albany - 1
Chautauqua - 1
Delaware - 1
Genesee - 1
Herkimer - 1
Lewis - 4
Madison - 4
Monroe - 14 (or 19? conflicting report given by WHAM in Rochester)
Niagara - 2
Ontario - 2 (or 1? conflicting report given by WHAM in Rochester)
Oswego - 1
Otsego - 1
Seneca - 1
Steuben - 3
Wayne - 1 (hospitalized) (or 2? conflicting report given by WHAM in Rochester)
Westchester - 5
Wyoming - 1

*Chemung is not reporting suspected cases

Reported by the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, NY:

Madison County reporting 4th suspected case of swine flu

http://www.uticaod.com/news/x1194159...e-of-swine-flu

Reported by WKTV in Utica, NY:

3 suspected Oneida County cases test negative
Otsego County has one suspected case, results pending
Herkimer County has one suspected case, results pending

http://www.wktv.com/news/news2watch/.../44142657.html
and
http://www.wktv.com/news/local/44356992.html

Reported by WHAM in Rochester, NY:
**this information conflicts with several other news reports which are also dated today, gives 2 different numbers in the same article for Monroe County suspected cases

19 (or 16?) suspected cases in Monroe County, still only 1 confirmed case, now recovered.
1 suspected case in Ontario tests negative
1 new suspected case in Wayne

http://www.13wham.com/guides/health/...18qYVPoMw.cspx

[appleblossom]

New York State case updates 5/8/09:

As of 8:00 AM on Friday 5/8/09, here are the New York state case numbers.

Confirmed H1N1 Cases (outside NYC):

Chautauqua - 1
Cortland - 1
Lewis - 1
Monroe - 1
Nassau - 6
Onondaga - 1
Orange- 3
Suffolk - 4
Westchester - 2

Suspected flu cases with results still pending (outside NYC):

Albany - 1
Chautauqua - 1
Delaware - 1
Genesee - 1
Herkimer - 1
Lewis - 4
Madison - 4
Monroe - 16
Niagara - 2
Ontario - 2
Oswego - 1
Otsego - 1
Seneca - 1
Wayne - 1 (hospitalized)
Westchester - 5
Wyoming - 1

*Chemung is not reporting suspected cases

The suspected case numbers in Monroe county reported in the previous post by WHAM in Rochester appear to be a typo. This article dated today 5/8/09 by the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, NY puts Monroe County suspected numbers at 16:

Athletic Officials on alert for swine flu

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...+for+swine+flu

Reported by 1010 Wins:

3 new Swine Flu cases confirmed in Nassau County

http://www.1010wins.com/Three-Swine-...County/4350233

Reported by the Messenger Post in Canadaigua, NY:
**this article dated 5/7/09 also contradicts the questionable WHAM article in the previous post, so I am going with these numbers on suspected cases in Ontario and Wayne

Ontario County officials say 2 suspected cases have been sent for testing.
Wayne county continues to have one suspected case and is waiting for test results.

http://www.mpnnow.com/news/x15188672...Ontario-County

Reported by the Star Gazette in Elmira, NY:

3 Steuben cases in Bath and Hornell are negative for swine flu. 1 Hornell case was positive for regular seasonal flu.

http://www.stargazette.com/article/2...EWS01/90507057


Reported by WXXI in Rochester, NY:

Health Officials Say Swine Flu Winding Down (5/6/09)

State Health commissioner Dr Richard Daines says the swine flu outbreak in New York is winding down, with no new cases confirmed, and all closed schools now reopening.

The Health Commissioner says no new cases of the swine flu virus have been confirmed in past two days, though testing continues at the Wadsworth state labs and in New York City. He says the count remains at 97 confirmed cases, with 80 in New York City and 17 upstate and on Long Island. He says so far, no one in New York has been seriously ill with the virus.

"The outbreak of the H1N1 virus in New York State continues to involve mild to moderate symptoms similar to ordinary, seasonal flu," Daines said.

For that reason, Daines says, state health officials will now be treating the swine flu just like the regular seasonal flu. The daily briefings to the media will end, and schools closed due to confirmed cases will re open. And in the future, he says, a single confirmed case of swine flu will not force entire schools to shut down.


http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wx...86&sectionID=1


***Swine Flu is getting very little media attention at this time. In addition many of the suspected cases in New York State, especially the Monroe County cases, have been idling for over a week now, waiting for test results. Monroe County was expecting test results on those cases early this week, Monday or Tuesday "at the latest", but there has been no word or explanation for the delay. The CDC sent H1N1 testing materials to every state lab in the U.S., including the NYS Department of Health's Wadsworth Lab in Albany, and the Erie County Public Health Lab in Buffalo (which is responsible for testing a 17 county area in Western NY, through the Finger Lakes region, east to Syracuse) to reduce the swine flu test backlog and speed resolution of cases.

[appleblossom]

New York State case updates 5/9/09:

As of 5:00 AM on Saturday 5/9/09, here are the New York state case numbers.

Confirmed H1N1 Cases (outside NYC):

Chautauqua - 1
Cortland - 1
Lewis - 1
Monroe - 1
Nassau - 8
Onondaga - 2
Orange- 3
Suffolk - 5
Westchester - 2

Suspected flu cases with results still pending (outside NYC):

Albany - 1
Chautauqua - 1
Delaware - 1
Genesee - 1
Herkimer - 1
Lewis - 4
Madison - 4
Monroe - 16
Niagara - 2
Ontario - 2
Oswego - 1
Otsego - 1
Seneca - 1
Wayne - 1 (hospitalized)
Westchester - 5
Wyoming - 1

*Chemung is not reporting suspected cases



CDC H1N1 Flu Website lists Confirmed New York State Flu Cases at 174
Friday May 8, 2009 11:00 AM

http://cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm#statetable


Exerpts of Statement by Richard F. Daines, Commissioner of New York State Department of Health:

May 8, 2009

The outbreak of H1N1 in New York State continues to involve mild to moderate symptoms similar to seasonal flu.
Since we are not seeing an increase in the severity of illness in New York State, DOH will begin monitoring and reporting on the virus as it does for seasonal influenza.
This will be the last daily briefing, but DOH will reconvene briefings as necessary to update the public on any significant issues that may arise.
Thursday tests at Wadsworth lab resulted in one new case outside of NYC, in Onondaga County. Case is linked to the Ed Smith School
On Monday Wadsworth Laboratories received a large batch of 102 specimens from the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System. These are specimens collected about 10 days ago when the outbreak in Queens connected to St. Francis Preparatory School was in the news. On Thursday, we reported on specimens in that batch that involved individuals who reside in Nassau and Suffolk counties, resulting in eight cases identified in Nassau County and five cases in Suffolk County.
Today I have the results of New York City specimens in that batch, which include 75 patient specimens from New York City now confirmed with H1N1. Fifty of these 75 cases, or over 65 percent, have a direct link to the St. Francis School outbreak, and represent students and faculty there.
The remaining 25 cases involve children under high-school age and could represent siblings of the St. Francis students, but that cannot be fully determined until the epidemiological investigations are completed.
Because these specimens are from the first days of the outbreak in New York State more than a week ago, they do not indicate active cases, and we believe these individuals have fully recovered. However, we felt it important to brief you on the results of the large batch of older specimens from North Shore-LIJ, as these numbers when added to our current map graphic on our web site will indicate a rather substantial jump in the overall New York City cases.
At this point in the outbreak, reporting daily numbers of new cases is not important because the illness continues to be mild to moderate, similar to seasonal influenza. The numbers are also not particularly significant because they only represent lab-tested specimens, and many individuals with mild symptoms do not go to a physician or hospital, but instead, recover at home – as has been our advice for some time.
As we go forward, the focus of our monitoring and reporting will be more on identifying new locations, trends, and patterns of the H1N1 virus, as well as watching for more severe disease. The test results from the North Shore-LIJ specimens will help us to better understand the early phase of H1N1 in New York and how it has spread geographically over time.

Read the full statement here
http://www.health.state.ny.us/press/..._swine_flu.htm

***At this time the official case numbers being reported in New York are not an accurate representation of true H1N1 infections in our state, as stated by Commissioner Daines. It appears that state health officials are also no longer currently testing for the virus, except for areas of new outbreaks, and will not be offering daily updates on the situation except if and when there are changes. It seems pointless for me to continue updating this thread every day, especially since the small number of official lab-tested cases are overwhelmed by the anecdotal evidence that swine flu is everywhere in our state and spreading. I will keep combing through the news reports anyway and when I find new information about New York State I will post it here, including resolutions of the suspected case lists outside NYC, if they are ever resolved.

[HenryN]

Statement from Richard F. Daines, M.D., Commissioner

May 8, 2009
In the two weeks since the first cases of H1N1 (swine flu) were reported in New York State, Governor Paterson marshaled a comprehensive health emergency response to the possibility of a severe H1N1 outbreak statewide.
Because of Governor Paterson's quick action, the State Department of Health (DOH) immediately activated its Health Emergency Preparedness Plan, and during these two weeks we have determined that the H1N1 outbreak has not produced widespread infections or severe symptoms.
As Governor Paterson has noted, the outbreak of H1N1 in New York State continues to involve mild to moderate symptoms similar to seasonal flu.
Over the past two weeks, the Governor and DOH have provided daily briefings on the most recent developments and have closely monitored the spread of the disease and its effect on New Yorkers.
Since we are not seeing an increase in the severity of illness in New York State, and the symptoms of H1N1 continue to be similar to seasonal flu, DOH will begin monitoring and reporting on the virus as it does for seasonal influenza.
This will be the last daily briefing, but DOH will reconvene briefings as necessary to update the public on any significant issues that may arise.
On Thursday, DOH's Wadsworth Laboratories performed tests on recently obtained specimens from 20 individuals, including two repeats from the prior day. The tests resulted in one new case of H1N1 outside of New York City, involving an individual who resides in Onondaga County. This individual has a known link to the Ed Smith School, which had a case that we reported earlier.
Nine specimens were positive for seasonal influenza A, eight were negative for any type of flu, and one was inconclusive and requires additional testing. Another case is currently undergoing further investigation.
I want to note that testing at Wadsworth Laboratories has identified only one new case of H1N1 outside of New York City on recently collected specimens from the last five days.
At this time, I also want to mention that our Wadsworth Laboratories tested 83 specimens for seasonal influenza B, the other type of seasonal influenza that is circulating this flu season. Of these specimens, five tested positive for seasonal influenza B.
Testing for seasonal influenza B had been deferred because testing for H1N1 influenza was our highest priority. With the addition of these seasonal influenza B results, to date our total number of positive cases for seasonal flu is 61.
As I reported previously, on Monday Wadsworth Laboratories received a large batch of 102 specimens from the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System (North Shore-LIJ) for laboratory confirmatory testing. These are specimens collected about 10 days ago when the outbreak in Queens connected to St. Francis Preparatory School was in the news. These older specimens underwent preliminary testing at North Shore-LIJ laboratories. The clinical needs of these patients were appropriately addressed.
The Department carefully sorted through the specimens to eliminate any that were duplications of testing previously performed and to identify the county of residence of these individuals.
On Thursday, we reported on specimens in that batch that involved individuals who reside in Nassau and Suffolk counties, resulting in eight cases identified in Nassau County and five cases in Suffolk County.
Today I have the results of New York City specimens in that batch, which include 75 patient specimens from New York City now confirmed with H1N1. Fifty of these 75 cases, or over 65 percent, have a direct link to the St. Francis School outbreak, and represent students and faculty there.
The remaining 25 cases involve children under high-school age and could represent siblings of the St. Francis students, but that cannot be fully determined until the epidemiological investigations are completed.
Because these specimens are from the first days of the outbreak in New York State more than a week ago, they do not indicate active cases, and we believe these individuals have fully recovered. However, we felt it important to brief you on the results of the large batch of older specimens from North Shore-LIJ, as these numbers when added to our current map graphic on our web site will indicate a rather substantial jump in the overall New York City cases.
At this point in the outbreak, reporting daily numbers of new cases is not important because the illness continues to be mild to moderate, similar to seasonal influenza. The numbers are also not particularly significant because they only represent lab-tested specimens, and many individuals with mild symptoms do not go to a physician or hospital, but instead, recover at home – as has been our advice for some time.
As we go forward, the focus of our monitoring and reporting will be more on identifying new locations, trends, and patterns of the H1N1 virus, as well as watching for more severe disease. The test results from the North Shore-LIJ specimens will help us to better understand the early phase of H1N1 in New York and how it has spread geographically over time.
As I mentioned earlier, we are entering a new phase in our response to this outbreak, and Governor Paterson has asked that I only provide updates when there are important new developments.
New Yorkers with questions about swine flu can call the DOH hotline at 1-800-808-1987. New York City residents should call 311.
More information and resources are available on the Department's Web site at www.nyhealth.gov/swineflu.

http://www.health.state.ny.us/press/..._swine_flu.htm

[HenryN]

Commentary

[Commonground]

From Dr. Niman's Commentary:

The identity between H1N1 in Mexico and the US (as well as all other countries submitting sequence data - see list of isolates here), raises concerns that the silent spread will produce frequent co-infections between swine and seasonal H1N1. These co-infections can produce genetic exchanges between human and swine isolates via reassortment and recombination.

This type of rapid genetic evolution between human and swine H1N1 raises concerns that a more virulent H1N1 will emerge in the near term, and lead to a significant rise on severe cases in the fall, when the flu season begins in the northern hemisphere.

So come next Fall, in the US..will the CDC be testing for both Swine H1N1 and Seasonal H1N1 separately, for their weekly updates? How will that go?

[HenryN]

Originally Posted by Commonground

From Dr. Niman's Commentary:



So come next Fall, in the US..will the CDC be testing for both Swine H1N1 and Seasonal H1N1 separately, for their weekly updates? How will that go?

Poorly.

[Commonground]

Originally Posted by niman

Poorly.

Just what I expected to hear from you.

[appleblossom]

Oh joy! The NYS Department of Health is doing my job for me now. They've printed up a very handy map outlining # of confirmed cases throughout the state.

http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseas..._by_county.pdf

Confirmed cases as of May 14, 2009:

Chautauqua - 1
Cortland - 1
Erie - 1
Lewis - 1
Monroe - 1
Nassau - 18
Onondaga - 5
Orange - 3
Saratoga - 1
Suffolk - 17
Washington - 1
Westchester - 13

and NYC is at 167 confirmed cases.

[appleblossom]

NYS DOH Confirmed Cases in New York State as of 5/22/09 -

Albany: 1
Clinton: 1
Cortland: 1
Chautauqua: 1
Erie: 17
Greene: 1
Lewis: 1
Monroe: 2
Nassau: 38
Niagra: 1
Orange: 3
Onondaga: 11
Rockland: 5
Saratoga: 1
Suffolk: 21
Sullivan: 1
Washington: 1
Westchester: 19

New York City: 240

State Total Confirmed Cases: 366

http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseas..._by_county.pdf



*** This information only gives confirmed locations of H1N1, not the extent of the outbreak.

[Commonground]

Thank you appleblossom for this thread.

[appleblossom]

Happy to help! To be honest I only started this thread because I wanted to know what was happening in my state, and no one else on Flutrackers was posting about it. So I started doing my own research and putting it up for others to read. Feel free to add additional info anytime.

I've been sticking to posting DOH numbers recently but they are dismally inaccurate, basically a joke. Comprehensive testing has all but stopped in NY, which makes it impossible to know what's really happening. And combing through the "spin" coverage of H1N1 offered by local newspapers and tv stations was making me so mad I had to stop that for a while. Now that people are dying I guess the MSM might start treating this seriously again.

[appleblossom]

NYS DOH Confirmed Cases in New York State as of 5/26/09 -

Albany: 1
Clinton: 2
Cortland: 1
Chautauqua: 1
Dutchess: 2
Erie: 17
Greene: 1
Lewis: 1
Monroe: 2
Nassau: 38
Niagra: 1
Orange: 3
Onondaga: 12
Rockland: 5
Saratoga: 1
Suffolk: 23
Sullivan: 1
Washington: 1
Westchester: 19

New York City: 330

State Total Confirmed Cases: 462

http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseas..._by_county.pdf



*** This information only gives confirmed locations of H1N1, not the extent of the outbreak.

[appleblossom]

News updates for 5/26/09:

Reported by the Post-Standard in Syracuse, NY:

Swine Flu tally rises to 12 in Onondaga County. Latest case is a young child (not school age) who has had contact with an H1N1 infected student at Bellevue Elementary. Currently no increase in hospitalizations or emergency room visits in the Syracuse area.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.s..._to_12_in.html


Reported by the Times Herald-Record in Albany, NY:

Confirmed Cases of Swine Flu Rise to 462 in New York. 96 new cases. Current total outside NYC is 132 cases in 19 counties, newest cases are 1 in Clinton, 1 in Onondaga, 2 in Dutchess, 2 in Suffolk. NYC has 90 new cases. (This article reports 2 deaths but current total is 4 deaths in NYC.)

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbc...EWS90/90526026

Reported by Mid Hudson News:

2 confirmed cases in Dutchess County. One is a "middle to high school age" male, one is a 20-something male, both now recovered.

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/20...DC-26May09.htm

No news articles about the newest Clinton County case that I could find. The local paper in Plattsburgh, the Press Republican, has nothing to say about it. And the Clinton County Department of Health website has not been updated since their first case was identified on 5/15/09.

http://www.clintoncountygov.com/Depa...h/cchdhome.htm

Also could find no news articles about the newest Suffolk county cases. But Newsday.com (covering Long Island) had plenty of articles with today's date about NYC schools reopening. The Suffolk County Department of Health H1N1 webpage has not been updated since 5/8/09.

http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/depar...ices/H1N1.aspx

[appleblossom]

News updates for 5/27/09:

Reported by EmpireStateNews.net :

Suffolk County total cases now at 23. The 2 new cases are both toddlers. One in Farmingdale and one in Hampton Bays. Both recovering at home. The Hampton Bays case is the first confirmed case of H1N1 in Eastern Suffolk County. Ages of victims in Suffolk range from 1 to 51. The median age is 12.

http://www.empirestatenews.net/News/20090527-2.html

[appleblossom]

NYS DOH Confirmed Cases in New York State as of 5/27/09 -

Albany: 1
Broome: 1
Clinton: 2
Cortland: 1
Chautauqua: 1
Dutchess: 2
Erie: 23
Greene: 1
Lewis: 1
Monroe: 3
Nassau: 40
Niagra: 1
Orange: 3
Onondaga: 14
Rockland: 5
Saratoga: 1
Schenectady: 3
Suffolk: 40
Sullivan: 1
Washington: 1
Westchester: 20

New York City: 356

State Total Confirmed Cases: 521

http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseas..._by_county.pdf



*** This information only gives confirmed locations of H1N1, not the extent of the outbreak.

[appleblossom]

News updates for 5/28/09:

Reported by WBGH in Binghamton, NY:

Broome County H1N1 case has no history of travel to Mexico or downstate. Patient is an adult with no school connections, has not been hospitalized, and is now recovering.

http://www.newschannel34.com/news/lo...i3nU32wyw.cspx

Reported by WNYT 13 in Albany, NY:

3 cases confirmed in Schenectady County. One is a student at Schenectady High School, who has since recovered. The other two are adults located elsewhere in the county, both are recovering at home. There is no known link between the 3 cases.

http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S950257.shtml?cat=300

Reported by Newsday.com covering Long Island and NYC:

New swine flu cases and large numbers of students with flu-like illness closing more schools in NYC and Long Island. Henry Viscardi School in Albertson, a school for disabled children, was the latest to close due to high absentee rate and flu symptoms in both students and staff. 13 more schools close in NYC, with another planned closing in Manhattan. Health officials are suggesting prophylactic anti-viral treatment for all students at Henry Viscardi. The school shares a campus with a disabled work-program for adults, which has not experienced high absentee rates and will not be closed.

Quote from the article:

Dr. Scott Harper, a city Health Department epidemiologist, said scientists are currently focusing on how many people are becoming ill and the severity of their symptoms.

"The big picture is not the number of deaths in any given city," Harper said. "The big picture is how many cases are occurring."

No data exists that shows swine flu spreading more in densely populated cities like New York than in rural or suburban areas, Harper said.

http://www.newsday.com/news/printedi...,2229528.story


** Most of the articles on Erie County and Monroe County cases are at least a week old, so I'm still looking for updated information on those areas. Can't find any info on the newest Suffolk and Nassau cases yet.