In Va., 36 deaths related to swine flu

Ricky Harris, 4, gets the H1N1 flu shot at the City Health Department in October, while being held by his grandmother, Julia Harris.

By: Tammie Smith | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published: February 20, 2010

About 30 percent of the H1N1 swine flu-associated deaths in Virginia occurred in African-Americans, the state health commissioner said yesterday.

African-Americans make up about 20 percent of the population in the state.

In Virginia, there were 36 confirmed H1N1-associated deaths -- 33 adults and three children.

"What we learned from the CDC, who studied 10 different states, including Virginia, was that over the last year . . . 35 percent of the people who were hospitalized with H1N1 were African-American," said Dr. Karen Remley, Virginia health commissioner.

African-Americans made up 16 percent of the population in the 10 states studied, according to unpublished Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research.

"If you were African-American, you were more likely to be hospitalized. We don't know all of the reasons yet," Remley said yesterday at a vaccination event in Hampton.

CDC officials have speculated that higher rates of such underlying conditions as diabetes and asthma in African-Americans may have been a factor in higher hospitalization rates.

Overall, all racial and ethnic groups seemed to get the flu and seek care for flu-like illness at about the same rates, the research showed.

In Virginia, for the week ending Feb. 6, outpatient visits for flu-like illness made up about 2 percent of all visits to urgent-care centers and emergency departments in the state health department's flu surveillance system. Laboratory tests were not picking up flu virus, however.

The CDC estimates 41 million to 84 million people in the U.S. were infected with the H1N1 virus. While the H1N1 virus spread easily, it turned out not to be as virulent as feared, so many people had just mild illness.

In Virginia, about 1.5 million doses of H1N1 vaccine were administered as of Feb. 16. The state has been allocated about 3.8 million doses.

Remley, with Hampton health and other officials, say it's still a good idea to get the vaccine.

"Even though it's been pushed off the front pages . . . H1N1 is still here," said Dr. Kermit B. Ashby, who works at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Hampton.

The World Health Organization on Thursday recommended that the 2010-2011 seasonal flu vaccine include protection against the H1N1 flu virus. Seasonal vaccine typically protects against the three flu strains predicted to cause the most problems.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meets Wednesday and Thursday in Atlanta to review the flu season.

"The good news is we have an awful lot of people vaccinated in our state," Remley said. "We unfortunately had a lot of people sick. So we have many less people to get sick, but we still have an awful lot more who can be exposed."

"Getting your vaccine now not only protects you if there is a wave this spring, but it also will help protect you from the H1N1 component of flu next year," Remley said.

Contact Tammie Smith at (804) 649-6572 or TLsmith@timesdispatch.com.