Connecticut Off List Of States With Widespread Flu

For the week of Sunday, Sept. 20, to Saturday, Sept. 26, Connecticut was found to not have widespread influenza activity, according to a report prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 27 states listed as having widespread cases of the flu in the CDC”s most recent  ”2009 H1N1 Flu Situation Update” were: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.

The CDC said almost all influenza patients were found to be infected by the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus (“swine flu”), and said reports of widespread influenza activity in September were ”very unusual.”

The CDC said the virus selected for the 2009 H1N1 A vaccine, which could become available this week, remains similar to the virus being detected in patients, and remains susceptible to the antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir, with rare exception.

The CDC also reported:

  • Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness continued to increase in some areas of the country, and overall are higher than levels expected for this time of the year.
  • Total influenza hospitalization rates for laboratory-confirmed influenza in adults and children are higher than expected for this time of year, and for children ages 5-17 and adults ages 18-49, hospitalization rates from April through September 2009 exceeded average flu season rates.
  • Based on reports from 122 cities, the proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza was low and within the bounds of what is expected this time of year. However, 60 pediatric deaths related to 2009 H1N1 flu have been reported to the CDC since April 2009, including 11 deaths in the week covered by the latest Situation Update.

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Further information from the CDC about the influenza pandemic can be found at www.flu.gov/ .

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  • NorwalkSpectator

    New York is not on that list either and they are requiring health care workers to have mandatory vaccinations. Interesting, no?

  • Secondhand Rose

    Aren’t flu shots mandatory for health care workers regardless of whether there is flu in the state or not? Considering that health care workers are exposed to far more contagion than the average Joe, and on an hourly/daily basis. Just think of how often patients in hospitals come down with infections that are passed along unknowingly by health care workers. It makes a lot of sense to require health care workers to have mandatory flu shots; I wouldn’t be surprised if Connecticut was doing the same. Frankly, I would feel much more secure knowing that my doctor or PA or nursing aide had received a flu shot. At least I can pretty much count on the fact that I won’t be catching it from one of THEM.