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Ashartus · 10-23-2009, 04:24 PM

A few people were asking about the prevalence of 2009 H1N1 vs. regular seasonal flu. The Public Health Agency of Canada has been doing some surveillance (http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/fluwatch/index-eng.php); the latest data (for the week ending October 10) shows "This week, 99.9% of the positive influenza A subtyped specimens were Pandemic (H1N1) 2009." That could change once we get into the actual flu season, and I believe almost all of the testing is done on people with severe enough conditions to warrant hospitalizatoin, but it looks like it's mostly the 2009 H1N1 out there right now.

You can also read the full report, which has detailed stats on flu surveillance and hospitalizations, including information on age, sex, and underlying medical conditions. The pregnant women stats are a bit scary - 23.5% of deaths have been pregnant women, and I believe they only represent something like 1% of the population at most. Overall we aren't in a full-blown pandemic right now, but flu prevalence is higher than normal for this time of year and increasing.

10-23-2009, 04:24 PM	#119
Ashartus First Line Centre Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Calgary Exp:	A few people were asking about the prevalence of 2009 H1N1 vs. regular seasonal flu. The Public Health Agency of Canada has been doing some surveillance (http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/fluwatch/index-eng.php); the latest data (for the week ending October 10) shows "This week, 99.9% of the positive influenza A subtyped specimens were Pandemic (H1N1) 2009." That could change once we get into the actual flu season, and I believe almost all of the testing is done on people with severe enough conditions to warrant hospitalizatoin, but it looks like it's mostly the 2009 H1N1 out there right now. You can also read the full report, which has detailed stats on flu surveillance and hospitalizations, including information on age, sex, and underlying medical conditions. The pregnant women stats are a bit scary - 23.5% of deaths have been pregnant women, and I believe they only represent something like 1% of the population at most. Overall we aren't in a full-blown pandemic right now, but flu prevalence is higher than normal for this time of year and increasing.