Swine flu U.S. national emergency
President Obama today declared the swine flu epidemic in this country a national emergency. Forty-six of the 50 states now have widespread flu contagion.
“It’s important to note that this is a proactive measure — not a response to a new development,” an administration official said.
“H1N1 is moving rapidly, as expected. By the time regions or healthcare systems recognize they are becoming overburdened, they need to implement disaster plans quickly,” he said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that the extent of swine flu contagion in the U.S. is currently on a par with the peak of the seasonal flu season, which normally doesn’t occur until at least late November and sometimes not until early March.
By declaring the national emergency, the administration enables Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health insurance agencies to waive certain requirements. This will smooth the way for doctors, hospitals and clinics to treat patients. As the flu season peaks, health-care providers such as hospitals are expected to be overwhelmed with patients.
The table below shows figures from the CDC giving the breakdown of lab-analyzed specimens for last week. Note that out of nearly 5,000 positive specimens, over 99% were Type A and approximately 70% were swine flu. This latter figure is slightly misleading, however, because almost 30% of the samples determined to be Type A were not subtyped. This means that virtually all positive respiratory specimens that were analyzed last week have turned out to be swine flu if there subtype was checked.
| Week 41 | |
| No. of specimens tested | 12,943 |
| No. of positive specimens (%) | 4,855 (37.5%) |
| Positive specimens by type/subtype | |
| Influenza A | 4,844 (99.8%) |
| A (2009 H1N1) | 3,378 (69.7%) |
| A (subtyping not performed) | 1,436 (29.6%) |
| A (unable to subtype) | 30 (0.6%) |
| A (H3) | 0 (0.0%) |
| A (H1) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Influenza B | 11 (0.2%) |
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