Swine flu nowhere near 1918 influenza

Although the swine flu has killed 32 people in San Diego County, 297 statewide and nearly 4,000 nationally, it does not appear as though it will reach the pandemic proportion of an influenza outbreak nearly a century ago that caused tens of millions of deaths worldwide.
"It could be much, much worse," Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's chief public health officer told a gathering Thursday at the Solana Beach Presbyterian Church. "While it is killing people, it's lacking the virulent gene of the flu pandemic of 1918."
The vaccine supply, now put at about 42 million doses nationwide, continues to trickle into local health care offices but is not yet widely available, prompting concern that some who had planned to get it may decide to skip it, Wooten said.
Since the H1N1 virus first emerged in the spring, Wooten said, 583 county residents have been hospitalized.
The average age of those who have contracted it is 26, and the average age of those admitted to hospitals is 31, Wooten said.
Among those who have succumbed locally and nationally, the vast majority have had serious underlying medical conditions such as cancer, obesity or diabetes, Wooten said.
Many of those who came out to hear the update sponsored by the Del Mar-Solana Beach Community Response Team wanted to know what symptoms to be aware of, how the virus is affecting children and what the major risk factors are.
A fever of more than 100 degrees along with a persistent cough, headaches and sinus congestion are common hallmarks.
Wooten said children under age 5 who exhibit symptoms should be taken to a doctor immediately.
For those that get sick, Tamiflu, a pill, remains the primary medication. The drug lessens the symptoms but will not cure the illness.
Her presentation came the same day that California health officials said the virus has hospitalized 5,380 state residents, and the same day that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said swine flu has sickened about 22 million Americans.
The federal agency also said that nearly 4,000 people have died, most of them about 12 days after getting sick.
The major issue that continues to confront public health officials and private physicians is the vaccine supply.
The federal government had estimated that a sufficient stock would have been available by now, but additional time required to produce it has delayed widespread distribution.
"We created an expectation in the summer that there would be enough vaccine," Wooten said. "The vaccine will get here, but this issue that worries us now is will people still be interested?"
They should be, she said, because health officials anticipate a third wave of the virus to hit in the spring of next year.
The first wave occurred this spring and the second wave is occurring now.
One bright spot on the flu front is a lack of seasonal flu being seen locally and nationwide, Wooten said.
"It's flu season now, and we've had very little seasonal flu," she said. "That's a good thing because we know that what is circulating now is H1N1."
Wooten also reminded the 45 people attending the briefing that the seasonal flu kills about 36,000 people nationwide each year and that H1N1 isn't approaching that number.
Solana Beach Presbyterian Church Pastor Tom Theriault said the message Wooten delivered was helpful for him to understand the dynamics of the swine flu.
"It's also useful to me because I have grandkids and we have about 200 children that attend our preschool," he said.
While there hasn't been any outbreak at the preschool, Wooten said the county has had 19 school outbreaks to date.
An outbreak is when any school reports six or more cases occurring simultaneously.