New Mexico DOH weekly H1N1 update

The Department of Health is tracking hospitalizations and deaths to determine if there is a change in the severity of the disease.

The Department of Health is not seeing any other types of influenza in New Mexico at this time, therefore all positive flu tests are presumed to be novel H1N1 influenza. The definition of an influenza-related hospitalization was broadened this week to include any hospitalization with any lab test positive for influenza, which accounts for the increase in hospitalizations from 140 to 221.

The severity of illness due to novel H1N1 influenza, which has been mostly mild, has not changed nationally or in New Mexico from the spring.

Influenza-Like Illness

Visits to healthcare providers for influenza-like illness increased to approximately 16 percent this week, up from approximately 10 percent last week. 

The percentage of visits to healthcare providers is drastically higher than would be expected for this time of year.  During the peak of last year’s flu season in March of 2009, approximately three percent of all visits to providers were due to influenza-like illness.

The Department tracks influenza-like illness, which is defined as fever and either cough and/or sore throat, at 22 clinics throughout the state. Influenza-like illness is the best indicator of flu activity in the state.

Deaths

The Department of Health is reporting three novel H1N1-related deaths in the last week in New Mexico.

The latest deaths are a 47-year-old female from Chaves County who had no known chronic health conditions, a 59-year-old male from San Juan County who had chronic health conditions that put him at higher risk, and a 63-year-old male whose county of residence has not yet been determined who had chronic health conditions that put him at higher risk. 

So far this year, there have been 12 deaths related to novel H1N1 influenza in the state.

The other novel H1N1-related deaths are as follows:

• a 45-year-old female from Sierra County with end stage liver disease,
• a 52-year-old female from Bernalillo County with chronic pulmonary disease,
• a 48-year-old female from McKinley County with asthma and diabetes,
• a 21-year-old female from Los Alamos County without chronic medical conditions, and
• a 58-year-old male from Bernalillo County with chronic conditions that put him at risk for serious complications from the flu,
• a 5-year-old female from Sandoval County with no chronic health conditions,
• a female infant from Roosevelt with no chronic health conditions,
• a 17-year-old female from Chaves County with no chronic health conditions, and
• a 28-year-old male from Lea County who did not have any known chronic health conditions.

Hospitalizations by County

There have been 221 hospitalizations related to novel H1N1 influenza.  The hospitalizations by county are as follows:

• Bernalillo County (39),
• Chaves County (7),
• Cibola County (5),
• Curry (15),
• Doña Ana County (15),
• Eddy County (9),
• Guadalupe County (1),
• Lea County (10),
• Lincoln County (2),
• Los Alamos County (1),
• Luna County (1),
• McKinley County (27),
• Otero County (7),
• Rio Arriba County (6),
• Roosevelt County (4),
• San Juan County (14),
• Sandoval County (9),
• Santa Fe County (7),
• Sierra County (6),
• Socorro County (5),
• Taos County (10),
• Valencia County (5) and
• 16 cases where residence has not yet been determined. 

Vaccine Information

As of Oct. 14, the Department of Health has ordered 42,203 doses of novel H1N1 vaccine that will be shipped directly to healthcare providers and public health offices statewide.  Both nasal and injectable vaccine has been ordered. 

The vaccine will arrive in stages, and the Department of Health expects to have about 1.2 million doses by the end of January 2010.

The Department of Health is encouraging people to call their primary healthcare providers to ask if they are providing the novel H1N1 vaccine.

People without insurance or a healthcare provider, or whose providers will not offer the novel H1N1 vaccine, can get the vaccine from a local public health office.  For information about scheduled flu shot clinics, call 1-866-681-5872 or go online to www.nmivc.org/cliniclist.php .  Please call your local public health office first to check the availability of novel H1N1 vaccine. Public health offices are listed in the phonebook’s blue pages under state government. Contact information for public health offices is also listed at www.nmhealth.org .

The Department of Health is encouraging the following people who are at a higher risk for developing serious complications from novel H1N1 to get vaccinated as soon as possible:

• pregnant women,
• household members/caretakers of infants less than 6 months old,
• children 6 to59 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.