1st H1N1 flu case confirmed in Valley

By William K. Alcorn | June 5, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

The threat of swine flu is not over, said a state health department official.

YOUNGSTOWN — Swine-flu vaccine is set to be available in late fall, says a state health official, in the wake of Mahoning County’s first confirmed case of the virus.

A 22-year-old woman has “fully recovered” from H1N1 flu (swine flu), said Matthew Stefanak, county health commissioner.

Stefanak said the woman was hospitalized with flulike symptoms shortly after returning home May 26 from a trip to Florida and was discharged May 31.

The Ohio Department of Health laboratory confirmed the woman’s illness as swine flu Wednesday, said Stefanak, who has shared the case information with the local health community.

He said it is the county health department’s policy to not provide further identifying information about the patient.

As of Thursday , Ohio had 34 confirmed cases of swine flu in 15 counties, including the one in Mahoning. Also, there were two probable and 31 suspected cases as of Thursday, according to the state health department.

Ohio’s first case of swine flu was confirmed April 26. People who had contracted swine flu in Ohio as of Wednesday ranged in age from 2 to 47, and the average age was about 20, said Dr. Alvin D. Jackson, director of the Ohio Department of Health.

Dr. Jackson and other state health officials updated the media on the number of swine flu cases and its planning relative to the swine flu during a conference call Thursday .

Barbara Bradley, chief of the state Bureau of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, said vaccine for the swine flu likely will be available after October in late fall.

Health officials, including Dr. John Venglarcik, medical director for the Mahoning County Health Department, said health officials believe there may be a resurgence of the disease in the fall during the normal flu season in the United States.

Dr. Venglarcik said national health officials are monitoring how the swine flu develops in nations such as Australia, New Zealand and areas such as South America and Africa, which is going through its regular flu season now. They want to determine how virulent the virus is and what type of vaccine needs to be developed to combat it, he said.

The swine-flu vaccine will not be included in the seasonal-flu vaccine, and will be administered separately. Also, state health officials said the swine flu may require two shots given a couple of weeks apart.

Even though the number of swine-flu cases continues to grow, state health officials fear the interest on the part of the general public in taking precautions is waning.

“The threat of the swine flu virus is not over. It continues to spread around the world and in the U.S. We want the public to remain vigilant,” Dr. Jackson said.

“It remains important for citizens to continue to ... wash their hands frequently, to sneeze into their elbows, to refrain from touching their eyes and nose and mouth after sneezing, and if they are sick, to stay home from work and school to avoid spreading the disease to others,” Dr. Jackson said.

The human body’s immune system has the capacity to produce antibodies to defend it against any virus in the universe. The problem with the swine flu, and the reason it is called a pandemic, is that it is so new that no one has seen anything like it before, and therefore no one has developed any antibodies to slow down the infection and reduce the symptoms and make it less contagious, Dr. Venglarcik said.

Because no one on the planet has seen anything similar to the swine flu, it puts everyone on the same level. When that occurs, everybody is susceptible, and it can’t be stopped with natural immunity. “As a consequence, it can spread dramatically,” he said.

That being said, there are some positives.

First, Dr. Venglarcik said the swine- flu virus is missing a piece that makes it more difficult to spread than other strains.

Also, he said, the limited interaction with swine flu this spring has given the health-care community a warning and a better opportunity to prepare for what might have to be faced in the fall.

“Plans are in place. We are doing local, regional and state exercises to learn to work together and to find the flaws in the plans to see if they work. From my perspective as county health board medical director, I have been impressed,” Dr. Venglarcik said.

alcorn@vindy.com