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Epidemiologic Notes and Reports Update: Influenza Activity
-- United States, Worldwide
United States
On November 6, a 62-year-old resident of Tucson, Arizona, had
onset of a febrile respiratory illness with exacerbation of his
underlying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was
hospitalized
on November 7, and a nasopharyngeal swab was collected on the day
of
admission. Type A influenza virus was confirmed by rapid indirect
fluorescent antibody staining, and treatment with amantadine began
on
the same day. The patient recovered from his acute respiratory
illness and was discharged to another hospital for treatment of an
unrelated problem. He had not traveled before his illness, and
influenza had not been previously identified in Arizona this
season.
Subsequent testing identified the virus isolate as type A(H3N2).
This
is the first report of this subtype from the United States this
season.
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have now reported
isolates of type A(H1N1) influenza virus (Figure 3). Most isolates
have been obtained from children and young adults. Two states,
California and Texas, have reported isolates of type B influenza
from
sporadically occurring cases.
Worldwide
USSR. Reports from the USSR indicate that during the last week
of
October acute respiratory disease morbidity reached epidemic levels
in
43% of USSR cities (26 of 60) that have surveillance for
influenza-like illness. Influenza A(H1N1) and A(H3N2) viruses have
been isolated in some cities in the USSR, and there is also
preliminary serological evidence of influenza B virus in the
country.
Other Reports. In September, an outbreak in a boys' boarding
school in England affected about one-third of the students. The
outbreak ended within 10 days; influenza A(H1N1) virus was isolated
from one student. In November, isolates of A(H1N1) were reported
in
association with sporadically occurring cases in the German
Democratic
Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Democratic
Peoples
Republic of Korea. Serologic testing implicated influenza A(H1N1)
in
sporadically occurring cases in France and Norway during November
and
in outbreaks of influenza-like illness in Jamaica during October.
Influenza type A(H3N2) has been reported in association with
sporadically occurring cases in the Democratic Peoples Republic of
Korea.
Between late September and early November, influenza B virus
was
isolated from three children during an outbreak in Panama and from
two
patients with sporadically occurring cases in Senegal. Serologic
testing has also implicated influenza B in sporadically occurring
cases in France.
In Turkey, widespread outbreaks of clinically diagnosed
influenza
among children have forced some schools to close.
Reported by State and Territorial Epidemiologists; State Laboratory
Directors; E Petersen, MD, L Minnich, G Ray, MD, University Medical
Center, Tucson, Arizona; G Meiklejohn, MD, University of Colorado
Medical Center; J Critchon, MD, Helena, Montana; National Influenza
Centers, Microbiology and Immunology Support Svcs, World Health
Organization, Geneva; AN Slepushkin, V Zdhanov, Ivanovsky Institute
of
Virology, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow; WHO
Collaborating Center for Influenza, Influenza Br, Div of Viral
Diseases, Center for Infectious Diseases, CDC.
Disclaimer
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