H1N1 still around, especially in southeast
The H1N1 flu virus is still around and making people sick, especially in the southeastern U.S., public health experts say.
Three states — Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina — are reporting regional flu activity, and the Georgia Department of Community Health is seeing an upswing in flu-related hospitalizations, mostly involving people with chronic health conditions that leave them vulnerable to flu complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Local flu activity is being reported in Puerto Rico and eight states — Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Hawaii and New Mexico.
Georgia has seen more laboratory-confirmed cases of H1H1 in recent weeks than it has since October, Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said at a CDC press briefing Monday.
Nearly all flu circulating right now is H1N1, health officials said.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin said most people who remain vulnerable to H1N1 are those who haven’t been vaccinated.
About 60 million Americans have been infected with H1N1, about 265,000 have been hospitalized and nearly 12,000 have died from it, Benjamin said.
“We’re at a critical moment in our national response to this virus, and we need to continue to urge Americans to get vaccinated, especially people at high risk from complications from H1N1,” Benjamin said.
Particularly vulnerable to hospitalization from H1N1 are people with asthma, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, pregnancy and neurologic diseases.
The Illinois Department of Public Health this week began a renewed push to persuade people who haven’t yet been vaccinated to get the vaccine. In the past week that ended Friday, there were 18 H1N1-related hospitalizations and one H1N1-related death in Illinois, and H1N1 could still make a bigger comeback this spring or in the fall, according to IDPH.
Since last April, there have been 3,011 hospitalizations and 105 deaths attributed to H1N1 in Illinois, according to a running count updated weekly on the state public health Web site.
The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is still making free H1N1 vaccinations available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays at its 201 N. Kenyon Road, C, building. Appointments aren’t necessary.
The Vermilion County Health Department continues to offer vaccinations by appointment. Call 431-2662.
For more information about where to find a vaccination location, visit www.ready.illinois.gov.
Why are you so happy when the sun comes out in springtime? Sunshine allows you to make endorphins, your natural antidepressant. Why do you get sick less in the summer than in the winter? Sunshine on your skin makes vitamin D which you later convert into a potent hormone that supports your immune system. And yet why do cosmetic dermatologists treat the sun with such distain? Cosmetic dermatologists make millions promoting chemical sunscreens and scaring you into their offices. I believe your grandmother and maybe even your mother got it right when they told you to go outside to play in the sun and fresh air.
A new study from Tokyo’s University School of Medicine Minato-ku puts grandma’s advice into perspective (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20219962). A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial found school children nearly half as likely to get influenza A while getting 1200 IU/day of the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D. That same study discovered asthmatics are six times more likely to have an attack while taking the placebo.
What’s important is that 77% of Americans are vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D researchers believe you need 4000 to 6000 IU/day of the sunshine vitamin. A glass of milk only has 100 IU of vitamin D. Getting sufficient vitamin D is only possible through UVB exposure, as nature intended, from the sun or a tanning bed. Mothers know intuitively what Mother Nature has provided for you – you need midday summer sun like you need organic whole food, fresh unpolluted air and clean sanitary water.
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