New York State follows the example of the CDC and its reporting is at least a week behind at any given time. In the week ending November 7 2009, flu activity continued to explode in upstate New York.

New York State is reporting the level of this pandemic in several ways. In labs statewide for the week ending November 7, over 4,000 specimens tested positive for the A flu virus, 99% of those testing positive for flu. At the state laboratory, 43 of 45 specimens tested positive for Swine Flu.

The state is also tracking visits to hospital emergency departments for influenza like illnesses (ILI). In the Western Region, including the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Corning and Elmira, the rate was 19.8% of all emergency department visits. This was a 10% increase from the preceding week and a new peak for the year.

The Central New York Region, including the large military base at Fort Drum and the cities of Syracuse and Binghamton had a 19.1% ILI rate. That is an 8% increase from the preceding week and a new peak for the year.

The Capital Region is the area with the highest reported ILI visit rate in the state, 22.5%. That is a 15% percent increase from the previous week and nearly double the rate from two week prior.

The Hudson Valley Region and Long Island have much lower rates though the Hudson Valley is now just above a 10% rate. During the Spring wave of Swine Flu, this region reached a peak of 14% of visits to emergency departments for ILI.

Click for a larger image

The latest report from the New York State Department of Health on the influenza situation outside of New York City shows a dramatic increase in visits to hospital emergency rooms for flu like illnesses in Upstate New York. The October 24 report shows nearly a 50% increase in such visits from the October 17 report. The Hudson Valley and Long Island regions show a much smaller increase.

Here is the article

Here are some of the colleges and universities in Upstate New York, and the latest information they have on their websites about Swine Flu. It is good to see that several of them have received the H1N1 vaccine and are distributing it.

• University at Buffalo (UB):
  

  So far, UB officials are aware of only a small number of cases of influenza-like illnesses on campuses—probably instances of swine flu, Raab says. Still, some offices are taking such precautions as cross-training employees and receiving briefings from information technology specialists on how staff can work and access files on UB servers from home.

• The College at Brockport:
  

  The number of Brockport students with influenza-like illness (10 today) reflect the general trend of increasing flu activity on campus and in the community. Information on vaccine clinics will be available as soon as we receive the vaccine, which is expected in the near future. Symptom severity is unchanged; mild to moderate illness. There have been no known hospitalizations. There have been no particular patterns regarding students’ residences or academic majors. Students who have symptoms of fever, cough and/or sore throat are requested to call the Student Health Center at 585.395.2414 to talk with a nurse.

• Houghton College:
  

  H1N1 remains the prominent circulating influenza strain, and continues to be a significant issue on many campuses. During the week of Oct 3–9 nearly 6,000 new cases of influenza like illness (ILI)—presumed to be H1N1—with 8 hospitalizations, were reported by 259 colleges across the country (ACHA surveillance data). While we have had a handful (or two) of people who have had symptoms consistent with ILI, so far no one on campus (that we are aware of) has tested positive for influenza.

  The Allegany County Department of Health will be on campus this Wednesday, October 21, between 1:30 and 5 p.m. to administer the H1N1 vaccine to all interested students age 24 and under, and to anyone else who meets CDC priority criteria. I strongly encourage you all to take advantage of this opportunity.

• SUNY College at Geneseo:
  

  It is important that we keep an accurate count of our students with Influenza-Like-Illnesses, so please keep us informed!

  SUNY Geneseo has a dedicated team of professionals who have been working closely together for several years to establish an effective plan for handling a pandemic flu outbreak. This team has been monitoring the recommendations of the CDC, WHO, State, and local government health departments to stay current on updated information regarding the HINI virus.

  Although the H1N1 influenza outbreak has not proven to be as severe as expected, Geneseo will continue to take additional precautions to prevent the spread of the flu as much as possible.

• University of Rochester:
  

  The University recorded its first case of influenza-like illness among students this semester on Sept 8th. Three new cases was identified today. The total number of cases identified is now 62. Five students are confined to their rooms at present.

  There are no changes to University of Rochester operations or activities because of public concern worldwide about novel H1N1 influenza.

• Rochester Institute of Technology:
  

  The RIT Student Health Center reported it treated five students with an influenza-like illness between Oct. 12 and Oct. 19. It is difficult to distinguish between seasonal and H1N1 flu. The center has advised these students to recover in their rooms. Students who are ill must self-isolate until they feel well and have had no fever for 24 hours (with out fever-reducing medicine).

• St. John Fisher College
• Elmira College:
  

  At this time there are no students or employees with confirmed cases of H1N1. However, due to the increase in reported Influenza-Like Illness cases in Chemung County and no further testing being done for confirmation of H1N1Flu unless a person is hospitalized, EPIC is initiating the Flu Protocol at this time. The information in the link below provides specific guidelines concerning how Elmira College will respond to the H1N1 Flu on our Campus. Included is a list of expectations of students, parents and employees.

• Syracuse University
• Cornell University:
  

  The first, limited, shipment of H1N1 influenza vaccine arrived at Gannett Health Services late on Friday, Oct. 16. Following CDC guidelines for situations in which vaccine supplies are limited, these initial doses will be targeted to STUDENTS at greatest risk of complications from the flu, including: those with underlying health conditions, those who are pregnant, and/or those who care for infants under 6 months old.

  There is no doubt that your vigilance and thoughtfulness are making a difference in reducing spread of the virus in our community. The number of students with H1N1 influenza has dropped dramatically since the early weeks of the semester. At Gannett, we have been diagnosing 5 to 10 students per day for the past couple of weeks (as compared to 50 to 100 during in early September). Levels of illness in the communities surrounding Cornell are also reported to be low.

Latest Upstate New York data

New York regions defined by NYS Dept of Health

Swine flu continues to spread in New York State. Data compiled by the NYS Department of Health suggests that this fall’s wave of pandemic flu will be larger and affect more people than the spring wave did.

The graph above illustrates the numbers for Flu-like Illness in NYS hospital emergency departments as percentage of total emergency department visits, by Region (3 month snapshot). FLI is the primary indicator being used in NYS, and all of the testing being done demonstrates that pandemic Swine Flu is the overwhelming influenza virus making people sick.

In New York City, the situation seems to be different at this point. After large numbers of Swine Flu cases this past spring, the indicators for the illness are well within normal expectations for this time of year.

For the rest of this article, please visit the Rochester Infectious Disease Examiner.

New York State map of pandemic flu case numbers by county as of 6-26-2009. Click on the image for a larger version.

This table ranks the New York State counties by pandemic flu case count, showing those counties with 10 or more cases. Cities in red are NYC metro. Blue cities are Albany metro.

Here is the latest report from New York State about pandemic swine flu or pandemic novel H1N1. New York City and surrounding counties are in this color. Albany County and surrounding counties are in this color. The city and metro area of Elmira remains without any recorded cases, despite having a prison. Bus loads of people arrive regularly from New York City to visit inmates and it would seem to be an ideal way for the disease to travel.

New York State map showing counties with pandemic swine flu - novel H1N1 cases for June 19 2009

New York State is currently reporting 1,756 recorded cases of pandemic swine flu / novel H1N1. New York City has recorded 1,032 cases. The city’s Department of Health has this to day:

Community transmission of the H1N1 virus appears to be declining in New York City, as emergency departments report lower numbers of visits due to influenza-like illness, the Health Department reported today. As expected, however, hospitalizations and fatalities continue to occur. As of June 19, the Health Department had recorded 748 hospitalizations and 30 deaths. The latest deaths occurred in persons aged 26-64.

The NYC area, the city and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland and Westchester, have a total of 1,283 cases. Despite the number, the metro New York case count is far less than Chicago / Cook County, or Milwaukee.

In upstate New York, Erie County and Buffalo have recorded 155 cases. Onondaga County and Syracuse have 84 cases. Dutchess County, considered upstate by the “city folk”, has 31 cases. Jefferson County and Fort Drum have 28 cases.

Here is the New York State swine flu / novel H1N1 case update as of June 10, 2009, in the late afternoon.

The media spent a lot of wordage yesterday on mis-characterizing a report issued by the New York City Health Department. Sample headline:

NY Times: 12 Flu Victims Have Died, and Ill May Total 550,000

Here is the link to the report itself. In a telephone poll, enough participants reported influenza like illness (ILI) to suggest that 6.9% of New York City residents may have experienced an ILI. It was a self reported survey and no medical confirmations were done. An ILI is not novel H1N1 or swine flu. In fact, as NYS testing suggested in mid May, up to 88% of the people with an ILI did not have any variant of the influenza virus.

The NY Times has an incorrect headline.

Here is the latest map of NYS counties with H1N1 outbreaks. Upstate, Erie County and Buffalo are running a very close second to Onondaga County and Syracuse. Monroe County and Rochester are running a very distant third.

New York State map of counties with novel H1N1 or swine flu cases as of June 10 2009

New York State has 1,241 cases of novel H1N1 or swine flu. New York City, just the 5 boroughs, has 820 cases. The city and its surrounding counties, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland and Westchester, have a total case count of 1,009 cases.

1,007 cases of swine flu or novel H1N1 in New York State. 623 cases in New York City and 384 cases outside of the city. NYC and adjoining counties – metro NY – have a total case number of 798.

Onondaga County and Syracuse have retaken the upstate lead in cases from Erie County and Buffalo. Onondaga = 69 cases and Erie County = 66 cases. The nearest upstate county has 10, which is Monroe County and Rochester.