More Signals On H1N1 Wave 3 Start in United States Recombinomics Commentary 02:02 February 25, 2010
Some of the nation's emergency departments are noting increases in flu-like illness cases that appear to be pandemic H1N1, and colleges are reporting the first increase in flu-like illness since the end of November, but it's not clear if these are early signs of a third pandemic flu wave.
The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) said today in a Twitter post that some of its members were anecdotally reporting a new wave of pandemic H1N1 patients coming to emergency departments and asked if other physicians were seeing similar patterns.
Carl Schultz, MD, professor of emergency medicine at the University of California at Irvine, told CIDRAP News that the increase in the number of influenza-like illnesses appears to be real, but he cautioned that many of the cases have not been confirmed as the pandemic H1N1 strain, because many departments stopped specifically testing for it because of low flu activity. Schultz chairs ACEP's disaster preparedness and response committee.
The above comments provide additional data that a third wave in the United States has begun. Reports on flu at universities has increased 52% over last week, which is supported by anecdotal reports from emergency room physicians. The largest number of new student cases was again in North Carolina.
These developments parallel the start of the fall wave. The initial cases were in region 4 and this area has had the highest percent of samples being H1N1 positive. Similarly, recent state reports showed recent increases in North Carolina and Alabama, while earlier reports describe more severe cases in hospitals in Tenne ...
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