Most new flu sufferers from Ohio


H3N2v case counts

Ohio: 107

Butler, 17

Champaign, 15

Clark, 3

Greene, 6;

Montgomery, 5

Warren, 1

Source: Ohio Department of Health

More than two-thirds of the people who contracted a new flu virus spread by swine at county fairs around the nation were from Ohio, federal health data show.

A report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that 11 of 16 people hospitalized for H3N2v this summer were from Ohio. Ohio reported also the only death associated with the outbreak, a 61-year-old Madison County woman who died Aug. 26.

But so far, the available data on H3N2v flu and the people sickened by it do not explain why Ohio had so many hospitalizations, said Dr. Celia Quinn, author of the report and a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer. Quinn is assigned to work with the Ohio Department of Health through 2014.

Statewide, 107 cases of the new flu were reported from July 28 through Sept. 24, though no new infections have been reported “in a couple of weeks,” Quinn said. “That may be because our prevention message is working, because we know there are still fairs going on.”

In the Miami Valley, cases included: Butler, 17; Champaign, 15; Clark, 3; Greene, 6; Montgomery, 5; and Warren, 1. Miami County had no reported cases.

Nationally, 306 cases have been reported. Indiana had the most cases, with 138 human infections reported.

Most of the illnesses associated with H3N2v were fairly mild, Quinn said, and comparable to the seasonal flu strains that circulate every fall and winter.

The new flu strain first appeared in the U.S. in swine in 2010; the virus was identified in people for the first time last year, when 12 cases were recorded nationally.

Flu viruses affect many species, including humans, pigs, birds and dogs. Usually, viruses are species-specific, but occasionally, a virus develops the ability to infect other species, such as a swine flu virus infecting people. People can also spread flu viruses to pigs.

As new flu strains emerge, public health experts monitor how easily they spread and how sick they make people. In the case of H3N2v, they are watching it to see it develops the ability to spread easily from person-to-person, instead of only from pigs to people. The concern is that new flu viruses could spur a pandemic, or worldwide flu epidemic, with the potential to sicken millions. The last pandemic was the H1N1 pandemic in 2009-2010. The H3N2v flu strain contains a gene from that strain.

So far, H3N2v has mostly been associated with swine exhibits at county fairs. In Ohio, health and agriculture officials worked to educate fair exhibitors and visitors on how to prevent infection with reminders to wash their hands and avoid contact with sick pigs. People with health problems that put them at risk for flu complications were also warned to be careful around swine.

The data on the hospitalizations show the advice “was right on,” Quinn said. “I think getting that message out there can prevent some complications form influenza and can prevent some hospitalizations.”

Quinn and colleagues reviewed case histories on the 11 people hospitalized. Of the 11, six had underlying health issues that might have led to flu complications, including pneumonia. The woman who died had type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and a history of cancer. She was hospitalized Aug. 25 and had to be put on a ventilator for breathing assistance.

The other 10 cases were children, including five who were ages 5 or younger. Six of the hospitalized cases, including the woman who died, had direct contact with swine, defined as touching the animals. One case had no known contact with swine. Most were hospitalized only briefly, usually just long enough to to get IV fluids for dehydration, antibiotics or antiviral therapy.

Health officials will continue to study the H3N2v outbreak, Quinn said.

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