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INDIANAPOLIS – State officials said Thursday during a weekly update on the H1N1 flu that there are conflicting indications as to whether the outbreak is slowing.
Indiana reported nine deaths from the H1N1 flu last week – the most in any week since the outbreak began – bringing the state total to 19. And 13 percent of Hoosiers seeking treatment at doctors’ offices reported flu-like symptoms – a historic high.
For the first time, younger age groups have surpassed the 65-and-older group in terms of hospitalization for flu-like illness and pneumonia.
But emergency room visits for the flu are down slightly, as is the rate of absenteeism in Indiana schools.
"My interpretation of this is we are at very high levels of activity," State Health Commissioner Dr. Judy Monroe said. "It’s encouraging to see fewer visits to the ER, but it’s still too early to know if we have hit the peak."
Because the number of H1N1 cases continues to grow – about 98 percent of all flu cases currently are H1N1 – Monroe said the fatality rate isn’t alarming.
She said the seasonal flu kills between 700 and 800 Hoosiers every year. During a peak period, that could mean 50 deaths a week.
So far, only one flu death has been reported that is not H1N1.
Monroe said the Indiana State Department of Health has ordered 666,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine so far.
More than 205,000 Hoosiers have been vaccinated – or about 3 percent of the population, she said. That percentage should jump to about 10 percent when the current vaccine order is filled.
Monroe said the state is now ordering on a daily basis, and it usually takes 48 to 72 hours for local health departments and other agencies to receive the vaccine after an order is placed.
