Correspondent of the Day

Test for H1N1 Before Diagnosing IT
Editor, Times-Dispatch: I would like someone in the health community to explain something to me: Being a health care professional myself, I am bothered by what I am hearing from those experiencing flu-like symptoms this year. I am not denying that the H1N1 virus is running rampant in our nation but I have to wonder about the statistics.

Friends and family members (and their children) have been going to physician's offices, urgent care facilities, and emergency rooms for diagnosing and treatment. From their accounts, here is what is happening:

• They have been told, without testing, that they have H1N1;

• They have been given the H1N1 test, but when it returns negative, they are being told that the testing is 50-70 percent inaccurate so they more than likely have H1N1;

• They are also being told that since it is too early for seasonal flu that they have H1N1. In fairness, some have tested positively for the H1N1 virus, as well. But, while I appreciate the overload the professionals are experiencing, I wonder if the statistics are being skewed with this type of diagnosing. I dare say it also contributes to the hysteria and fear being spread through the media.

Don't we need solid, substantiated, scientific data before releasing numbers telling us that between 95 and 99 percent of flu cases this year are H1N1? Janice Rossi Hassell, RN. Richmond.