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http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1787945.html
Swine flu has peaked in North Texas but isn't gone yet
Posted Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 Tarrant County Public Health, Texas, North Texas, Marc Flake
The H1N1 influenza has peaked in North Texas, but don?t put away the hand sanitizer yet.
"We have seen a peak and we are on the back side, but I don?t think that is the only peak we?ll see this season," said Dr. Sandra Parker, Tarrant County Public Health?s medical director and health authority. "I think it is going to go up and down, and even though we?re not seeing as many cases, I think we are not even close to it being over."
The holidays could cause the virus to start spreading again as people travel, attend family gatherings and shop in crowded malls.
"For people who weren?t sick during the most recent surge here, family gatherings certainly give them another opportunity to be exposed," said Dr. Jason Terk, a Keller pediatrician with Cook Children?s Physician Network.
Cooler weather alone doesn?t raise the risk of getting sick, but plunging temperatures can drive people indoors, where close contact makes it easer for the virus to spread, said Dr. John Carlo, medical director for Dallas County Health and Human Services.
The H1N1 influenza is still classified as widespread in Tarrant County, but the number of flulike illnesses in the area has been dropping since October.
In mid-October, Terk was seeing about 35 H1N1 cases per week. Now it?s down to two a week.
School absenteeism due to flulike illnesses has also decreased. But just because the number of cases down doesn?t mean that H1N1 is out of the community, Parker said.
"It?s still here, we?re just now on the back side of this first peak," she said.
Tarrant County has had 557 confirmed cases of H1N1, 131 hospitalizations and eight deaths since April. Dallas County has had 21 confirmed H1N1 deaths.
More flu-related hospitalizations could occur when the seasonal flu arrives, usually in late December or January. "All we can do is prepare as best we can for an increased volume, if H1N1 makes a resurgence," Terk said.
The vaccine is still the best defense against influenza, Parker said.
Tarrant County Public Health has received 18,400 doses of the vaccine; Dallas has received 31,300.
But the urgency to get the vaccine seems to have decreased, said Marc Flake, spokesman for Tarrant County.
During a vaccination event Tuesday at the Arlington Convention Center, crowds were sparse. By 2 p.m. about 500 doses had been given.
So far the vaccine has been limited to people in the priority groups, including pregnant women, healthcare workers, those caring for infants younger than six months, those ages 6 months to 25 years old, and anyone 25 to 64 with underlying health conditions.
When the vaccine will become widely available to other populations is still unknown.
"We?re still very short of having all of the priority groups adequately covered," Carlo said.
Nationwide about 46 million vaccines have been shipped but an estimated 159 million people are in the CDC?s priority groups.
Health officials continue to urge people to wash their hands, cover their coughs and isolate anyone who is sick.
JAN JARVIS, 817-390-7664
Swine flu has peaked in North Texas but isn't gone yet
Posted Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 Tarrant County Public Health, Texas, North Texas, Marc Flake
The H1N1 influenza has peaked in North Texas, but don?t put away the hand sanitizer yet.
"We have seen a peak and we are on the back side, but I don?t think that is the only peak we?ll see this season," said Dr. Sandra Parker, Tarrant County Public Health?s medical director and health authority. "I think it is going to go up and down, and even though we?re not seeing as many cases, I think we are not even close to it being over."
The holidays could cause the virus to start spreading again as people travel, attend family gatherings and shop in crowded malls.
"For people who weren?t sick during the most recent surge here, family gatherings certainly give them another opportunity to be exposed," said Dr. Jason Terk, a Keller pediatrician with Cook Children?s Physician Network.
Cooler weather alone doesn?t raise the risk of getting sick, but plunging temperatures can drive people indoors, where close contact makes it easer for the virus to spread, said Dr. John Carlo, medical director for Dallas County Health and Human Services.
The H1N1 influenza is still classified as widespread in Tarrant County, but the number of flulike illnesses in the area has been dropping since October.
In mid-October, Terk was seeing about 35 H1N1 cases per week. Now it?s down to two a week.
School absenteeism due to flulike illnesses has also decreased. But just because the number of cases down doesn?t mean that H1N1 is out of the community, Parker said.
"It?s still here, we?re just now on the back side of this first peak," she said.
Tarrant County has had 557 confirmed cases of H1N1, 131 hospitalizations and eight deaths since April. Dallas County has had 21 confirmed H1N1 deaths.
More flu-related hospitalizations could occur when the seasonal flu arrives, usually in late December or January. "All we can do is prepare as best we can for an increased volume, if H1N1 makes a resurgence," Terk said.
The vaccine is still the best defense against influenza, Parker said.
Tarrant County Public Health has received 18,400 doses of the vaccine; Dallas has received 31,300.
But the urgency to get the vaccine seems to have decreased, said Marc Flake, spokesman for Tarrant County.
During a vaccination event Tuesday at the Arlington Convention Center, crowds were sparse. By 2 p.m. about 500 doses had been given.
So far the vaccine has been limited to people in the priority groups, including pregnant women, healthcare workers, those caring for infants younger than six months, those ages 6 months to 25 years old, and anyone 25 to 64 with underlying health conditions.
When the vaccine will become widely available to other populations is still unknown.
"We?re still very short of having all of the priority groups adequately covered," Carlo said.
Nationwide about 46 million vaccines have been shipped but an estimated 159 million people are in the CDC?s priority groups.
Health officials continue to urge people to wash their hands, cover their coughs and isolate anyone who is sick.
JAN JARVIS, 817-390-7664