Star of Hope is a nondenominational Christian organization that equips children across the world with knowledge, physical well-being, spiritual growth and social skills through educational programs and local and international partnerships. Please donate!
Public health agencies in the United States, at all levels from city to national, have always needs more funding. Since the defeat of the major killing diseases in this country, such as polio, measles and yellow fever, there hasn’t been as much “public health” work to do.
We are in the seventh week of an outbreak of a new, novel type of influenza. Most of us call it the swine flu. The government calls it novel H1N1. As of June 8, there were over 15,000 confirmed cases in the United States and 27 deaths.
As the number of cases has increased, the public reporting of case counts and other data by the Centers for Disease Control and the various state public health agencies has declined. The CDC is reporting its data weekly. States like Florida and Wisconsin have stopped reporting data altogether. The CDC has this to say about novel H1N1, from Friday, June 5, 2009:
It’s uncertain at this time how serious or severe this novel H1N1 virus will be in terms of how many people infected will develop serious complications or die or how this new virus may affect the U.S. during its upcoming influenza season in the fall and winter. Because this is a new virus, most people will have little or no immunity against it, and illness may be more severe and widespread as a result. In addition, currently there is no vaccine to protect against this novel H1N1 virus. CDC anticipates that there will be more cases, more hospitalizations and more deaths associated with this new virus.
CDC continues to take aggressive action to respond to the outbreak. CDC’s response goals are to reduce the spread and severity of illness, and to provide information to help health care providers, public health officials and the public address the challenges posed by this new public health threat.
These statements seem to contradict the policy of reporting the case counts weekly.
As for the state agencies, let’s look at the top three states with the most reported cases.
The CDC reports that Wisconsin has 2,217 cases as of June 4 at 5 pm. Here is an image of the front page for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services site. June is home safety month and tick borne illness is a concern. You may read a statement about Wisconsin’s first death due to novel H1N1 or read about the 14 Carrot Award winners.
Wisconsin has a swine flu site. The most current situation report shown is dated May 14. The most current press release shown in June 4. Wisconsin has stopped posting case counts.
Texas has 1,670 cases according to the CDC. Here is an image of part of the front page of the Texas Department of State Health Services. You can learn about obesity, or how to avoid a waiting period for your marriage.
The Texas site for novel H1N1 information is here. The latest news release is dated May 27. The site also advises:
The Texas Department of State Health Services H1N1 Call Center is no longer operational.
For general health questions regarding H1N1 flu, please contact your health care provider, local health department or nearest DSHS Regional Office.
There is a case count link, as of June 5. It advises that the next update will be June 10.
Illinois has reported 1,357 cases to the CDC as of their deadline for last Friday’s report. Here is an image of the Illinois Department of Public Health home page. They’re worried about West Nile virus, childhood obesity, a smoke-free Illinois and cancer screening.
Illinois has a site dedicated to novel H1N1 / swine flu, as well. It provides a great deal of information and a case count. The count is updated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The public health agency websites for the three states with the most swine flu cases tell us a great deal about how those agencies view the novel H1N1 outbreak. The state with the most cases reports no data at all. Texas, in the number two spot, seems to be reporting weekly. Illinois, currently in third, reports three times a week. It is certain that the obese population of these three states can sleep well at night knowing that their public health agencies are devoting time and funding to their protection from fat.
On Y!CN
Star of Hope is a nondenominational Christian organization that equips children across the world with knowledge, physical well-being, spiritual growth and social skills through educational programs and local and international partnerships. Please donate!
Why Public Health Agencies Lack Funds to Fight Swine Flu
June 10th, 2009 | Comments Off
Public health agencies in the United States, at all levels from city to national, have always needs more funding. Since the defeat of the major killing diseases in this country, such as polio, measles and yellow fever, there hasn’t been as much “public health” work to do.
We are in the seventh week of an outbreak of a new, novel type of influenza. Most of us call it the swine flu. The government calls it novel H1N1. As of June 8, there were over 15,000 confirmed cases in the United States and 27 deaths.
As the number of cases has increased, the public reporting of case counts and other data by the Centers for Disease Control and the various state public health agencies has declined. The CDC is reporting its data weekly. States like Florida and Wisconsin have stopped reporting data altogether. The CDC has this to say about novel H1N1, from Friday, June 5, 2009:
These statements seem to contradict the policy of reporting the case counts weekly.
As for the state agencies, let’s look at the top three states with the most reported cases.
The CDC reports that Wisconsin has 2,217 cases as of June 4 at 5 pm. Here is an image of the front page for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services site. June is home safety month and tick borne illness is a concern. You may read a statement about Wisconsin’s first death due to novel H1N1 or read about the 14 Carrot Award winners.
Wisconsin has a swine flu site. The most current situation report shown is dated May 14. The most current press release shown in June 4. Wisconsin has stopped posting case counts.
Texas has 1,670 cases according to the CDC. Here is an image of part of the front page of the Texas Department of State Health Services. You can learn about obesity, or how to avoid a waiting period for your marriage.
The Texas site for novel H1N1 information is here. The latest news release is dated May 27. The site also advises:
There is a case count link, as of June 5. It advises that the next update will be June 10.
Illinois has reported 1,357 cases to the CDC as of their deadline for last Friday’s report. Here is an image of the Illinois Department of Public Health home page. They’re worried about West Nile virus, childhood obesity, a smoke-free Illinois and cancer screening.
Illinois has a site dedicated to novel H1N1 / swine flu, as well. It provides a great deal of information and a case count. The count is updated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The public health agency websites for the three states with the most swine flu cases tell us a great deal about how those agencies view the novel H1N1 outbreak. The state with the most cases reports no data at all. Texas, in the number two spot, seems to be reporting weekly. Illinois, currently in third, reports three times a week. It is certain that the obese population of these three states can sleep well at night knowing that their public health agencies are devoting time and funding to their protection from fat.
Table of contents for Swine flu outbreak 2009
Filed under: Commentary, Influenza, Medicine, Original writing, Pandemic, Swine Flu