Rate of flu patients continues to slide

Doctors' offices remain unusually busy although the percentage of patients with flu-like illnesses continues to drop, according to the New Mexico Department of Health, which also reported three more swine flu deaths over the last week.

NM DOH H1N1 Weekly Update for Nov. 12, 2009

Influenza-Like Illness:

Visits to healthcare providers for influenza-like illness dropped for the third week in a row to 6.6 percent from approximately 9 percent last week. However, visits to healthcare providers are still higher than would be expected for this time of year.

The Department tracks influenza-like illness, which is defined as fever and either cough and/or sore throat, at 26 clinics throughout the state. Influenza-like illness is the best indicator of flu activity in the state.

Disease Investigation:

Novel H1N1 influenza is still the predominant strain of flu in New Mexico at this time. All positive flu tests are presumed to be novel H1N1 influenza. The Department of Health is tracking hospitalizations and deaths to determine if there is a change in the severity of the disease. The severity of illness due to novel H1N1 influenza has not changed nationally or in New Mexico from the spring.

Deaths:

The Department of Health is reporting three H1N1-related deaths in the past week in New Mexico. The latest deaths are: a 66-year-old female from Bernalillo County with chronic medical conditions; a 42-year-old male from Santa Fe County with chronic medical conditions; and an 18-year-old male from Bernalillo County without chronic medical conditions.

There have been 29 deaths related to H1N1 influenza in the state. Information about the other deaths is listed on the Department’s H1N1 Web site .

Vaccine Information:

The Department of Health has ordered 203,710 doses of nasal and injectable H1N1 vaccine. Vaccine is being distributed to providers, hospitals and public health offices statewide as it is received.

The Department of Health is encouraging people in the following current H1N1 vaccination priority groups to get vaccinated as soon as possible: pregnant women, household members/ caretakers of infants less than 6 months old, children 6 to 59 months of age, children 5 to18 years with certain chronic health conditions that increase their risk of complications from flu, and healthcare workers and emergency medical service personnel with direct patient care.

The Department of Health is encouraging people in the current priority groups to call their primary healthcare providers first to ask if they are providing the novel H1N1 vaccine. People in the priority groups without insurance or a healthcare provider, or whose provider will not offer the H1N1 vaccine, can get the vaccine from a local public health office. Call your local public health office first to check the availability of H1N1 vaccine. Public health offices are listed in the phonebook’s blue pages under state government or online at www.nmhealth.org.

Vaccine Ordered by County:

The following is a total amount of H1N1 vaccine that has been ordered for each county as of Nov. 12:

Bernalillo (65,590)
Catron (190)
Chaves (10,230)
Cibola (2,920)
Colfax (1,300)
Curry (4,560)
De Baca (120)
Doña Ana (21,460)
Eddy, (4,990)
Grant (3,030)
Guadalupe (330
Harding (20)
Hidalgo (260)
Lea (5,800)
Lincoln (1,710)
Los Alamos (1,610)
Luna (3,020)
McKinley (10,000)
Mora (360)
Otero (5,520)
Quay (1,100)
Rio Arriba (3,955)
Roosevelt (1,690)
San Juan (13,200)
San Miguel (3,340)
Sandoval (9,490)
Santa Fe (13,985)
Sierra (990)
Socorro (2,450)
Taos (2,400)
Torrance (1,820)
Union (390)
Valencia (5,870).

Hospitalizations by County:

There have been 838 hospitalizations related to novel H1N1 influenza. The hospitalizations by county are as follows:

Bernalillo (204)
Chaves (14)
Cibola (13)
Colfax (20)
Curry (53)
Doña Ana (88)
Eddy (28)
Grant (8)
Guadalupe (1)
Lea (24)
Lincoln (6)
Los Alamos (1)
Luna (13)
McKinley (64)
Mora (1)
Otero (27)
Quay (4)
Rio Arriba (13)
Roosevelt (10)
San Juan (50)
San Miguel (4)
Sandoval (32)
Santa Fe (43)
Sierra (8)
Socorro (13)
Taos (18)
Torrance (2)
Union (1)
Valencia (27)
49 cases where residence has not yet been determined.