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End of the 2009-10 Flu Season

Weekly Reports



  • Weekly flu surveillance reports are posted here on a weekly basis and uploaded as PDF files to the weekly report files page.
  • Weekly reports from previous seasons can be found by clicking here.
  • The 2008-2009 influenza season summary can be found by clicking here.
  • For the numbers of reported deaths and hospitalizations from influenza in Maryland click here.



WEEK 9 (February 28 to March 6, 2010) - Activity: SPORADIC (updated 3/12/10)

Contents

  1. 1 Synopsis
  2. 2 ILINet Sentinel Providers
  3. 3 Maryland Resident Influenza Tracking Survey
  4. 4 Clinical Laboratory Influenza Surveillance
  5. 5 DHMH Laboratory Influenza Surveillance
  6. 6 Emerging Infections Program Influenza Hospitalization Tracking
  7. 7 Division of Outbreak Investigation Reports
  8. 8 ESSENCE Report

Synopsis

  • Influenza activity in Maryland continued to be "sporadic" last week; with few reports of influenza cases and hospitalizations from the surveillance regions in Maryland.
  • One outbreak of pneumonia was reported last week.
  • Pandemic influenza, type A 2009 (H1N1), continues to be the predominant strain of influenza in Maryland.
  • Influenza vaccination for seasonal and pandemic strains is still highly encouraged.

ILINet Sentinel Providers

Nine sentinel providers reported a median proportion of visits for ILI of 0.7% for last week. This is below the state-wide baseline of 2.8% and below what was observed at this time last year. A total of 107 persons visited the nine sentinel providers for treatment of their ILI symptoms.
Sentinel providers are health care providers who report to us the proportion of patient visits for influenza like illness. Because of the great variability in reported ILI proportions among providers each week, the median ILI is used instead of the average. (Back to top)
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Maryland Resident Influenza Tracking Survey

A total of 1,582 Maryland residents were enrolled in the system as of March 6, 2010. Of those, 645 (41%) responded to the weekly survey. Of those that responded, 20 (3.1%) reported flu-like symptoms.
Because there is no baseline to compare these results, and the sample size is small (compared to the population), caution must be taken when interpreting the results. (Back to top)
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Clinical Laboratory Influenza Surveillance

A total of 21 clinical laboratories reported 1,208 rapid influenza tests performed last week. Of those tests, 31 (2.6%) were positive, lower than the previous week (3%). Of the 31 positive tests, 18 (58%) were reported as type A influenza, and 13 (42%) were type B. (Back to top)
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DHMH Laboratory Influenza Surveillance

Last week, a total of 42 specimens were submitted to the DHMH Lab for influenza testing. Of these, 4 (9.5%) were positive by PCR technique, and they were all type A (H1N1) 2009 virus.  (Back to top)
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Emerging Infections Program Influenza Hospitalization Tracking

Last week, a total of two persons were reported hospitalized due to influenza (all types) in Maryland. To date, the strain of influenza in those persons has not been confirmed.  (Back to top)
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Division of Outbreak Investigation Reports

Last week, one outbreak of pneumonia was reported to DHMH. (Back to top)
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ESSENCE Report

Last week, a total of 40,038 people visited Maryland emergency departments that participate in ESSENCE. Of those, 449 (1.1%) visits were for flu-like illness. This is proportion is a slight increase over the previous week. ESSENCE is a system monitored by the Office of Preparedness and Response.  (Back to top)

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