By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-11-05 19:28:23 | Word Count: 811
The number of New Mexicans seeking health care remains high for this time of the year although the percentage of people displaying flu symptoms has dropped, according to the New Mexico Department of Health, which also reported five deaths from H1N1 over the past week.
New Mexico Department of Health H1N1 Weekly Update: Oct. 28, 2009
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Influenza-Like Illness
Visits to healthcare providers for influenza-like illness dropped significantly this week to approximately 11 percent from approximately 20 percent last week. Even with the significant drop, visits to healthcare providers are higher than would be expected for this time of year. The Department tracks influenza-like illness, which is defined as fever and either cough and/or sore throat, at 27 clinics throughout the state. Influenza-like illness is the best indicator of flu activity in the state.
Disease Investigation
Novel H1N1 influenza is still the predominant strain of flu in New Mexico at this time. All positive flu tests are presumed to be novel H1N1 influenza. The Department of Health is tracking hospitalizations and deaths to determine if there is a change in the severity of the disease. The severity of illness due to novel H1N1 influenza has not changed nationally or in New Mexico from the spring.
Deaths
The Department of Health is reporting five H1N1-related deaths in the last week in New Mexico. The latest deaths are: a 52-year-old male from Sandoval County with chronic medical conditions, a 51-year-old female from San Juan County with chronic medical conditions, a 69-year-old male from Bernalillo County with chronic medical conditions, a 73-year-old male from Socorro County with chronic medical conditions, and a 49-year-old male with chronic medical conditions whose residence has not yet been determined.
There have been 21deaths related to H1N1 influenza in the state. Information about the other deaths is listed on the Department’s H1N1 website at: www.nmhealth.org/H1N1.
Vaccine Information
The Department of Health has ordered 124,310 doses of nasal and injectable H1N1 vaccine. Vaccine is arriving in small amounts and is being distributed to providers and public health offices statewide.
The Department of Health is encouraging the following people who are at a higher risk for developing serious complications from H1N1 to get vaccinated as soon as possible: pregnant women, household members/caretakers of infants less than 6 months old, children 6 to 59 months of age, children 5 to18 years with certain chronic health conditions that increase their risk of complications from flu, and healthcare workers and emergency medical service personnel with direct patient care.
The Department of Health is encouraging people priority groups to call their primary healthcare providers to ask if they are providing the novel H1N1 vaccine. People in the target groups without insurance or a healthcare provider, or whose provider will not offer the H1N1 vaccine, can get the vaccine from a local public health office. Call your local public health office first to check the availability of H1N1 vaccine. Public health offices are listed in the phonebook’s blue pages under state government or online at www.nmhealth.org.
Vaccine Ordered by County:
The following is a total amount of H1N1 vaccine that has been ordered for each county as of Oct. 28: Bernalillo (40,340)
Catron (90)
Chaves (7,520)
Cibola (1,880)
Colfax (760)
Curry (2.520)
De Baca (30)
Doña Ana (12,690)
Eddy, (2,710)
Grant (1,850)
Guadalupe (200)
Harding (20)
Hidalgo (90)
Lea (3,250)
Lincoln (1,070)
Los Alamos (850)
Luna (1,890)
McKinley (6,250)
Mora (220)
Otero (3,430)
Quay (520)
Rio Arriba (2,655)
Roosevelt (890)
San Juan (7,720)
San Miguel (2,260)
Sandoval (5,200)
Santa Fe (9,435)
Sierra (610)
Socorro (1,700)
Taos (1,320)
Torrance (1,090)
Union (230)
Valencia (3,020).
Hospitalizations by County
There have been 634 hospitalizations related to novel H1N1 influenza. The hospitalizations by county are as follows:
Bernalillo County (158)
Chaves County (12)
Cibola County (13)
Colfax (14)
Curry (36)
Doña Ana County (56)
Eddy County (19)
Grant County (3)
Guadalupe County (1)
Lea County (21)
Lincoln County (4)
Los Alamos County (1)
Luna County (2)
McKinley County (54)
Mora County (1)
Otero County (20)
Quay (4)
Rio Arriba County (12)
Roosevelt County (10)
San Juan County (34)
San Miguel (1)
Sandoval County (22)
Santa Fe County (24)
Sierra County (8)
Socorro County (10)
Taos County (15)
Torrance County (1)
Union (1)
Valencia County (22)
55 cases where residence has not yet been determined.
