Newtown’s First H1N1 Case Is Unidentified 56-Year-Old Female

By John Voket

The global phenomenon that is the H1N1 or “swine flu” virus has officially arrived in Newtown, which until Tuesday, seemed immune to the effects of the virus despite the fact that diagnoses were being confirmed in most of the surrounding communities for weeks.

Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert received the official confirmation of a single case from the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) late Tuesday afternoon.

The case is an adult female, 56 years of age, who seems to have already worked through the virus.

“She did not require hospitalization and she has fully recovered,” Ms Culbert told The Newtown Bee. This case makes a total of 357 confirmed cases identified among Connecticut residents as of June 2.

Coincidentally, the news comes less than 24 hours after the DPH announced its laboratory will only be accepting specimens from hospitalized patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) and specimens from non-hospitalized patients associated with an ILI outbreak or cluster in an institutional setting (e.g., school or long-term care facility).

An outbreak is defined as ILI in three or more persons with onset of illness within seven days who attend the same school or reside in the same facility. In what appears to be a ratcheting down of more intense daily reporting on cases in the state, the DPH will no longer issue press releases to announce routine H1N1 test results from the laboratory.

The final daily release Wednesday, June 3, delivered bad news, however, announcing the state’s first death linked to infection with the novel H1N1 virus. The individual, a New Haven County resident over the age of 50, had underlying risk factors that put this person at higher risk for complications of influenza.

The individual died recently after a short hospitalization.

“Our hearts go out to this person’s family and friends,” stated DPH Commissioner J. Robert Galvin. “Though the cases of H1N1 flu in Connecticut have largely been mild, this death underscores the seriousness of influenza and the devastating impact it can have.”

 

Nearly 400 Connecticut Cases

The department also confirmed 40 additional cases of H1N1 flu, bringing the statewide total to 397 cases as of June 3. There have been three hospitalizations reported related to the H1N1 virus, including that of the individual who died.

The two other patients were discharged from the hospital and have fully recovered.

“Illness from H1N1 influenza continues to occur in Connecticut, with most people experiencing only mild illness,” stated Dr Galvin. “It is not unexpected, however, that the infections have caused serious illness, including death.” Dr Galvin noted that every year, approximately 36,000 people die due to seasonal influenza in the United States.

The Newtown district joins the DPH in continuing to ask residents to take precautions to prevent getting the flu or spreading it by staying home from work or school if they are sick, washing their hands frequently, and coughing or sneezing into their sleeve or a tissue.

 Ms Culbert said that while the first official confirmation of the virus in a Newtowner was made this week, she suspects that several others may have suffered from the illness, but failed to seek medical attention in favor of just remaining at home and treating the symptoms themselves.

 “I’ve got no confirmation of that, but it could have easily been here but the people who came down with the virus just stayed home, took care of themselves, and got better on their own,” she said on June 2.

Even the DPH is reporting that laboratory-confirmed cases represent only a fraction of the likely number of cases in the state because many persons with mild symptoms to not seek care from a doctor or hospital, but recover at home.

Ms Culbert had few details about the local resident who was the town’s first confirmed H1N1 case, but she did confirm the woman apparently had no children of school age living in the home, which further minimizes the likelihood of the victim spreading the virus among one of the most susceptible populations.

Accelerating Vaccine Development

The same day Newtown received the news of its first H1N1case, scientists around the world were accelerating efforts to develop a vaccine against the H1N1 influenza virus as rapidly as possible, according to Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). The need for such a vaccine received a strong impetus from the World Health Organization, which has issued a Phase 5 pandemic alert, a strong signal that the WHO believes a pandemic is imminent, according to the June 1 issue of GEN.

“It can take five or six months to come up with an entirely novel influenza vaccine,” says John Sterling, editor in chief of GEN. “There is a great deal of hope that biotech and pharma companies might be able to have something ready sooner.”

One company, Replikins, actually predicted more than a year ago that significant outbreaks of the H1N1 flu virus would occur within six to 12 months. The predictions were based on correlations of flu virus specimens and PubMed documentation of major outbreaks during the past 90 years.

Replikins’ officials say the company’s PanFlu™ vaccine is ready for clinical trials.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health has issued new guidance to health care providers and local health directors for H1N1 influenza testing, based on the sustained community transmission of the H1N1 flu outbreak. DPH is currently not recommending H1N1 influenza testing in outpatients with febrile respiratory illnesses for surveillance purposes.

If testing for H1N1 influenza is clinically indicated for certain outpatients, health care providers can request testing through a commercial laboratory. For a list of towns with confirmed cases, visit www.ct.gov/ctfluwatch.