Swine Flu Poised For Third Wave

Digital News Report – While the number of swine-flu cases has been leveling-off, some health care officials are worried that the virus is poised for a third wave. There were no deaths from the H1N1 in Nevada last week, but officials in San Antonio Texas say they expect a third wave.

The vaccine is readily available, but few people are taking advantage of the opportunity to get vaccinated. Officials in San Antonio are warning citizens to not be “complacent”.

The San Antonio Express reports that Metropolitan Health District officials have seen a rise in patients with respiratory illness. Since H1N1 has been the most the most prevalent type of flu they expect most of the new samples to test positive for the disease.

“We might be seeing the early stage of what might be a third wave” of swine flu, Dr. Bryan Alsip said. “We’ll know for certain whether they are new cases of flu or RSV (the common respiratory syncytial virus) or something else … probably by the end of the week.”

CDC Says Swine Flu Now Widespread in Only 4 States

Health Highlights: Jan. 1, 2010

The Palm Beach Post - Health  

The H1N1 swine flu outbreak continues to subside in the United States, with just four states now reporting widespread cases, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.That's a decline from seven states reporting widespread cases last week, and a continuance of a decline in prevalence since H1N1 infections peaked in late October, with 48 states reporting widespread illness at the time. 

The four states still reporting high H1N1 activity are Delaware, Maine, New Jersey and Virginia, the CDC said. 

The agency notes that visits to physicians for flu-like illness did rise slightly over the past week, the first such rise after eight consecutive weeks of decline. Rates of hospitalization for influenza remained unchanged, although the CDC says the number of deaths linked to pneumonia and influenza did rise.