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The percentage of Indiana patients reporting flu symptoms to their doctors is about to hit a 20-year high.
Indiana Health Commissioner Dr. Judy Monroe said Thursday that 10.4 percent of patients visiting private doctors' offices complained of flu-like symptoms last week.
State health officials also said that during the same period, 12.7 percent of emergency room patients are there because of the flu.
The Indiana Department of Health has tracked the number of patients reporting flu-like disease to a network of providers who have volunteered such information for 20 years. During that time, the highest percentage reported hit 10.7 percent in 1999 when a flu virus mutated, rendering the available vaccine useless, said Pam Pontones, the state's epidemiologist.
Monroe expects the state's figures to match the 20-year peak this week and will likely surpass that mark in the weeks to come.
"We're at that historical high, and we don't know when it's going to end," she said.
Monroe and other state health officials provided a weekly update on the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, also known as swine flu, to media during a conference call Thursday.
The flu is now widespread through the state and northern Indiana continues to see increasing activity compared to central and southern regions of the state, Pontones said.
Other flu markers are on the rise as well.
The rate of hospitalizations from the flu or pneumonia increased 35 percent in the past week, compared with a rolling average of the previous three weeks. Also, three more people died last week because of H1N1, bringing the total confirmed deaths since June to 10.
"This really is making history for October. To have this type of activity is unprecedented," Monroe said.
Given the widespread infection rate, the number of fatal cases is actually low – reflecting the mild nature of the flu caused by this virus. Although more and more people are becoming sick, the cases continue to be mild for most patients, Monroe said.
In comparison, 700 to 800 people die each year in Indiana from the seasonal flu. Most of those patients are elderly or young children. Of the few who have died from the H1N1 flu, most were between the ages of 5 and 49, officials said.
Only one death was reported in the 50-to-64 age group, and none in the 65-and-older category, which is different from what officials would typically expect from the seasonal flu, Pontones said.
Seasonal flu deaths are also more prevalent from January to March, and it's unknown whether the H1N1 flu virus will have a similar effect in early 2010, Monroe said.
Vaccine supplies continue to be low because of manufacturing problems.
By the time the most recent shipment arrives in the next few days, the state will have received about 479,500 doses. That is about half of the doses state health officials had initially expected to receive by mid-October, Monroe said.
But the state was able to order a slightly larger shipment this week, she said.
The doses are being distributed to counties based on population, and each county is responsible for determining the best way to vaccinate its residents. Officials have said that both university students and prison inmates are included in a county's population figures and they could be eligible to receive vaccine.
Allen County received another shipment Thursday and is expecting to conduct additional public clinics next week. Health care workers will be vaccinated during an invitation-only clinic at Carew Medical Park today, the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health announced.
Counties are focusing first on reaching several priority groups that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified. Those groups include children and young adults between 6 months and 24 years, adults with chronic health conditions, pregnant women, health care and emergency medical workers, and caretakers of children younger than 6 months.
For the rest of the general population, Monroe urged common sense to protect themselves and others from the flu.
Washing your hands, covering your cough and staying home when you become sick will help curb the spread of the virus, she said.
