May 7 2010 Flu activity in Augusta and in the state appears to have abated over the past 6 weeks. During the week ending May 7, Augusta area physicians and hospitals are reporting little flu activity. One area hospital admitted a previously healthy adult with severe, rapidly progressive pnuemonia five days after she and her husband developed a flu-like illness. The monthly volume in the local Children's Hospital emergency department in April was down compared to the marked increases seen from August to November 2009, and is more in line with the volume expected for this month based on past years. Local office-based pediatricians are not reporting unusual levels of respiratory illness in children this week. Click on the title above to read more.

Click on title to see current graph (June 25, 2010) of Influenza-like illness (ILI) for the state of Georgia. This curve differs from the above curve with national data because different regions of the country are at different points in the outbreak. The Georgia curve showed a steady decline from the first week of September until early January, when it leveled off. The pocket of persistent flu circulation in the Southeast US that was noted from late January to late March 2010 has abated. Hospitalizations and deaths in Georgia due to H1N1 have declined after a small rise during those months.

June 2010. Flu activity has all but disappeared in the United States after a slight resurgence from February to April in the US Southeast. The percentage of visits to clinics and emergency departments for influenza like illness has declined to the summer baseline. The second wave of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic is over. The last Pediatric death due to 2009 H1N1 occurred in March 2009. From April 2009 to May 2010 there were a total of 285 deaths in children due to the Swine Flu and another 53 deaths from influenza isolates that were not further characterized. The overall mid-point estimate of deaths in all age groups due to pandemic 2009 H1N1 is approximately 12,000. ... Click on title above for more information.

April 29: There have been 68 deaths due to influenza in Georgia residents since the "second wave" of 2009 H1N1 began in August 2009. After falling to zero for four consecutive weeks from late December to mid-January, there were 12 deaths reported in February, 6 in March, and 6 more in April. There were no deaths due to H1N1 reported in Georgia in the past week. The slight increase in hospitalizations and deaths due to H1N1 that was noted in Georgia from late January to mid-April appears to have abated.

March 24 Augusta Chronicle: Flu cases increasing locally Feb 13 Augusta Chronicle: Third Wave Coming? Jan 21: H1N1 shots available locally Jan 8: Flu hospitalizations up: Augusta Chronicle Dec 11: H1N1 on the Decline Dec 1: More H1N1 vaccine available in Richmond County Nov 21: Local H1N1 Website Launches Nov 3: NIH says H1N1 vaccine safe Sept 20: Link between 1918 "Spanish Flu" and H1N1 Aug 30: Augusta Doctors Say "Don’t Panic" Sept 4: Swine Flu is Widespread in Georgia Already

June 23: Declared Public Health Emergency for 2009 H1N1 expires May 22 Boston Globe: 65 million doses vaccine unused March 30 Atlanta J & C: H1N1 Resurgence in Georgia March 26, NIH News: Rapid Development of Drug Resistant 2009 H1N1 Feb 23, Washington Post: H1N1 Not Gone Feb 16: H1N1 to be added to seasonal flu vaccine Jan 22: WHO statement on "fake" pandemic Jan 14 New York Times: Google Flu Trends Jan 11 Fox News: A False Pandemic? Jan 11 Reuters: US scales back H1N1 vaccine order Jan 8 2010 Reuters: New flu may be coming Dec 18 Washington Post: Number of tests for H1N1 plummets Dec 17 Bloomberg article on possible "skipped" winter flu season Dec 4: Discussion of Oseltamivir-resistant H1N1, from WHO Nov 21 Washington Post: H1N1 cases declining but may rise with holiday travel Nov 11 NY Times: Revised estimates of national deaths due to H1N1 Buyer Beware: Phony H1N1 products on the internet