Aside from last year’s swine flu pandemic, a state health official said this year’s flu season has been the worst across Pennsylvania in the past six years.

While the number of confirmed flu cases have dropped significantly when compared to last flu season, the number of flu-like deaths and hospitalizations have increased, said Holli Senior, spokeswoman with the state Health Department.

“Compared to the last six (flu) seasons, this flu season was not mild,” said Senior.

The swine flu pandemic swept through the state last year and caused the number of confirmed flu cases to soar to numbers that aren’t suitable for year-to-year comparisons, local health officials said.

So far this season, 280 flu cases have been confirmed in York County, compared to last year’s 666 cases. one of the confirmed flu cases this year resulted in death, while four people died from flu-related illnesses last year.

Across the state, there have been about 15,000 fewer confirmed cases of the flu this flu season, but nearly 100 more hospitalizations and six more deaths than last season.

The state statistics show about one-third of the confirmed flu cases were to unvaccinated individuals.

And more than half of all flu deaths and hospital admissions occurred in individuals who didn’t receive a flu shot this season, according to the statistics.

The height of flu season is considered to occur between October to March, said Senior.

The state typically records the most flu activity between December and March, she said, meaning the brunt of flu activity this season has passed.

Average year: Meanwhile, flu activity at York City’s Bureau of Health has been pretty average this year, said Deb Stoops, immunization coordinator of the bureau.

Stoops credits the lower number of flu cases in York

this flu season to more people getting vaccinated.

“After last year, flu shots were available for people everywhere this year, including Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS,” she said.

People who got severely sick from the flu this year were often those who opted out of the flu vaccination, she said, noting the importance of the vaccine.

The city’s health department distributed about 3,100 flu vaccines this year, she said.

But that’s nothing compared to the 10,500 that were distributed to senior centers, schools and residents last year in anticipation of the H1N1 flu virus, she said.

Stoops also said the health bureau gave city residents Tamiflu during this year’s season, which most likely contributed to lower flu cases this year.

The medication is used to treat some types of flu in adults and children older than 1 who experience early symptoms of the flu.

The city’s health department stopped distributing flu vaccinations at the end of March, said Stoops.

– Reach Lauren Whetzel at 505-5432.

Posted on: Thursday, 30 December 2010, 13:27 CST

Trips to the emergency room from food allergies may be more common than previously thought.

Researchers report that Americans made just over a million visits to the ER for allergic reactions to food between 2001 and 2005.

That averages out to about 200,000 ER visits each year, including about 90,000 visits for serious, sometimes life-threatening, allergic reactions known as anaphylaxis.

These findings suggest that the numbers are now significantly higher than previously thought.

"While severe, life-threatening food-related allergic reactions are still relatively uncommon, our study suggests that they are more common than previously thought," lead researcher Sunday Clark, of the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, told Reuters Health in an email.

The new findings suggest that ER visits for all levels of allergic reaction to food are more common than past studies have indicated.

Another report recently found that Americans made 125,000 trips to the ER for food allergies in 2003, with about 14,000 of those involving anaphylaxis.

The current study is based on different data sources than previous studies.

Clark told Reuters that the team used figures from an annual government survey of hospitals, along with two recent medical studies, in order to estimate the frequency of ER visits for true food allergies.

According to Clark, it is possible that a growing number of Americans have been going to the ER more often for food reactions in more recent years.

The team found evidence that more children are turning up in ERs with serious food reactions than in years past.

The number of food-induced allergic reactions treated at Children’s Hospital Boston more than doubled over six years.

The researchers were unable to determine why figures rose, but they did say that the increase was in line with the national increase in the number of children being diagnosed with food allergies.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that three million school-aged children in the U.S. had a food allergy during 2007, which jumped 18 percent compared to 10 years earlier.

The most common triggers of food allergies include milk, soy, eggs, wheat, shellfish, peanuts and treat nuts.

Clark told Reuters the current findings highlight the importance of recognizing the signs of food-induced allergic reactions.

Food allergy symptoms range from the relatively mild to the more severe signs of anaphylaxis.

The study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

On the Net:

• University of Pittsburgh
• Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Source: RedOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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For Pennsylvania, 2010 is on track to be a record year for whooping cough.

More cases of the highly contagious illness, also known as pertussis, have been reported so far this year than in any year since 2005, according to statistics from the state Department of Health. many of those cases have been among 8-year-olds to 12-year-olds, spokeswoman Holli Senior said.

So far this year, 754 cases of whooping cough have been reported to the Department of Health. About 300 of those occurred in the past two months.

In 2009, there were 615 reported cases, the most since at least 2005.

"it is a busy year for pertussis," Senior said.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial illness spread by coughing or sneezing. The first symptoms of the disease are similar to those of the common cold. after about 10 or 12 days, those afflicted develop a severe cough that sometimes ends with a "whoop" as they try to catch their breath.

The disease is most dangerous in infants, who usually do not make the whooping sound and sometimes stop breathing during coughing fits. in otherwise healthy people, it is not usually life-threatening.

The disease is treated with antibiotics, which are more effective if whooping cough is diagnosed early.

A whooping-cough vaccine is required or recommended to enroll in elementary school in many Pennsylvania districts. But immunity can wear off over time, and a booster shot is now recommended for adolescents.

In November, the health department recommended that all Pennsylvanians ensure they are vaccinated against pertussis, saying "most adolescents and adults are susceptible to the disease."

The department recommended a booster shot for people aged 10 to 64 who are not fully immunized, women of childbearing age before or immediately after pregnancy, anyone who has contact with pregnant women or infants too young to be vaccinated, and all family members or caregivers of infants.

Cases have been on the rise in York, Delaware, Clarion and Venango counties, and the health department offered free vaccines in those areas.

In other areas, the department recommended talking to a doctor or other health-care professional. Vaccinations are also available at some Rite Aid locations.