NY officials warn of rising flu cases, hospitalizations

String of TB cases probed

ALBANY, NY, Jan 16, (AP): New York state says it’s seeing more reported cases of influenza so far this season than in recent years.

The state’s online flu tracker shows the state’s seen over 10,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza as of Jan 4. That’s up from roughly 3,000 in 2017.

The state’s data doesn’t represent all influenza illnesses, but officials consider it a useful indicator of influenza trends.

Gov Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, ordered state health officials this month to work with hospitals to make sure they’re equipped to meet a rising number of hospitalizations.

Nearly 2,000 New Yorkers were hospitalized with lab-confirmed influenza in the first week of January, up 34% from the previous week.

Meanwhile, the state is encouraging providers to promote the flu vaccine, which officials say is likely to be effective this season.

The state declared influenza “prevalent” in December. Now, healthcare workers who are not vaccinated against influenza are required to wear surgical or procedure masks in areas where patients are typically present.

Meanwhile South Dakota has reported three flu deaths, the first deaths of the season, state health officials said Tuesday.

The South Dakota Department of Health says the deaths were reported in Deuel and Mellette counties, and those who died were all 50 years or older.

State epidemiologist Dr Joshua Clayton says the deaths are a reminder that influenza “can be a very serious illness,” and that it’s not too late to get vaccinated for flu this season.

Activity

Flu activity is classified as widespread across South Dakota. So far, the state has reported 1,555 lab-confirmed cases of flu and 59 flu-related hospitalizations.

Public health officials say a type of flu virus that’s usually less prevalent is being reported more frequently in Virginia this year.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that of the more than 1,800 cases confirmed by lab reports since the start of the 2019-2020 flu season, 75% have been identified as type B, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

That trend is in line with national statistics.

Scott Pauley, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the newspaper it’s the first time since the 19921993 flu season that influenza B has been identified more often than influenza A nationally.

Pauley said that could mean a less severe season in terms of deaths, but still a strong one.

The CDC, which recommends that everyone 6 months and older receive a flu vaccine, said it does not yet have vaccine effectiveness estimates for this season.

So far there have been 255 reported pneumonia- and influenzaassociated deaths reported by the Virginia Health Department this flu season, the newspaper reported.

There have not been any reported pediatric deaths.

Last week Minnesota had reported another flu death, bringing the total to eight so far this season, the state Department of Health said Thursday.

The death is one more than the previous week. But no child deaths due to influenza have been reported since the flu season began, the department said.

According to the Health Department’s weekly flu update, Minnesota hospitals admitted 117 influenza patients last week. So far, more than 500 people have been hospitalized for the flu in Minnesota this season.

No school outbreaks were reported in the last full week of 2019 because of the holiday break. Nearly 300 school outbreaks have been reported so far this season.

Most of the patients tested were infected with the B strain of the virus which, unlike previous seasons, emerged early in the current season.

The B strain is more likely to affect children because fewer of them have been exposed to it in the past and had the chance to develop immunity.

Also: OMAHA, Neb:

Health officials in eastern Nebraska say they’re investigating a string of tuberculosis cases in the Omaha area.

The Douglas County Health Department said Wednesday that 13 people have tested positive for latent tuberculosis, and one child has a confirmed active case of the lung infection, television station KETV reported. The department says it has tested 31 people since December, when it learned a person from out-of-state staying with family was diagnosed with the disease.

Tuberculosis is slow to develop, and it can take up to 10 weeks before a person who has been exposed tests positive for the infection. Common symptoms include unexplained rapid weight loss, profuse coughing, night sweats and fever. It is treated with a course of antimicrobial drugs.

TALLAHASSEE,

Fla:

Florida health officials say there were nearly 3,400 hepatitis A cases in 2019.

According to statistics through Saturday, there were 3,395 cases – included 63 new cases reported the prior week.

To underscore the outbreak, the Panama City News Herald reported the state totaled 1,175 reported cases of hepatitis A in the five previous years combined – with 548 of those cases in 2018, according to state Department of Health data.

Hepatitis A can cause liver damage and is spread through such things as fecal matter. That can include transmission by people not properly washing their hands after going to the bathroom and contaminating food or drinks.

Health officials urge people to get vaccinated against the disease.

As of Saturday, Pasco County had the most cases in the state in 2019, with 414.