Replies

Del. swine flu cases jump

By HIRAN RATNAYAKE • The News Journal • October 15, 2009

Delaware’s Division of Public Health announced Thursday that the cases of swine flu in the state have leaped since its last count.

For Oct. 4-10, the most recent week for which data is available, Delaware had 179 new confirmed cases of swine (or H1N1) flu and 131 reports of influenza-like illnesses from its sentinel providers.

By comparison, during the week of Sept. 27-Oct. 3, there were 69 confirmed cases of swine flu and 31 new reports of influenza-like illnesses.

The public health division said it has been receiving reports of influenza-like illnesses from an expanded list of providers under its surveillance system, so those figures were expected to be higher.

“Although this number should not be directly compared to what was released last week, it showed a marked increase in confirmed cases, and the influenza-like illness (number) suggests that we are seeing a surge of influenza activity,” said Dr. Karyl Rattay, director of the public health division.

Rattay also said that state health officials have been told to expect 32,900 doses of injectable swine flu vaccine and 5,769 doses of swine flu nasal spray, known as FluMist, to arrive next week that can be used at schools.

Last week, the division announced that 17,000 doses were expected to arrive this week. Many of those doses were intended for pregnant women. But the state reported Wednesday that some of those doses won’t come until next week. The division said it did not know the reason for the delay

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20091015/HEALTH/91015036/Del.+swine+flu+cases+jump