Seniors may be immune to H1N1

[okarol]

Published Thursday October 15, 2009
Seniors may be immune to H1N1

By Troy Anderson
LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

As H1N1 flu cases in Los Angeles County spike among kids and young adults, officials said Tuesday that many seniors are immune to the virus having been exposed to similar strains decades earlier.

Los Angeles County has seen at least 57 people die from H1N1 virus this year, according to county public health director Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding. Outbreaks of the H1N1 flu have been reported in 34 schools and one nursing home throughout the county as of last week, Fielding said.

He expects more than 3,000 health care providers to receive about 1.3 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine by the end of the month.

“It's quite severe for this time of year,” Fielding said. “I think what distinguishes this (flu season) ... is that there is a small group that is getting severely infected, including some young and healthy children, pregnant women and young adults.”
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But some officials said that the H1N1 virus has enough similarities, or genetic markers, to influenza viruses that were present in the population many years ago so that many older people have built up an immunity.

“So the older you are, the more likely you are to have been exposed to the similar marker and that builds some resistance and immunity to H1N1,” said Jim Lott, executive vice president of the Hospital Association of Southern California.

Ileene Parker, director of the Bernardi Multiple-Purpose Senior Center in Van Nuys, said county health officials are telling seniors not to be too concerned about the H1N1 flu because it's expected to affect children and young adults the most.

“We are not terribly concerned, except for our young adults, grandchildren and other people,” Parker said.

In the past few weeks, some local hospitals have seen a big surge in flu patients, especially those under age 40.

At Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Dr. Stephen Jones, director of emergency services, said the hospital averaged one patient per day in July with the flu or flulike symptoms.

That grew to about three patients a day in September. So far in October, the hospital is seeing 10 patients a day.

“For the first 11 days of October, we've had a surge, a tripling in the number of cases,” Jones said. “We are in a growth curve now, the top of which we are not sure where it is.”

About half of the cases are under age 18, he said, and three-quarters are under age 40.

Dr. Wilbert Mason, head of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, said flu outbreaks usually begin in the schools, but he said they don't usually see cases until November or December.

“We are seeing lots of flu now and are starting to see an upswing again,” Mason said. “We had a peak earlier in the summer and then it tapered off somewhat. Now we're seeing another spike in the number of cases.”

Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that from Aug. 30 to Oct. 3 a total of 12,384 people had been hospitalized and 1,544 had died.

Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said most of these people had underlying health conditions, but some were healthy.

While most people who get the H1N1 flu can stay at home, Schuchat advised parents to take their children to the hospital if they have difficulty breathing, their skin turns gray or blue, are difficult to wake up or become irritable and can't stop crying.

“Warning signs, respiratory symptoms and high fever are reasons to seek care or talk to your health care provider,” Schuchat said. “So I think it is sobering that some totally healthy people suffer from rapid deterioration from the H1N1.”

Since Aug. 30, Fielding said, 82 outbreaks of flulike illnesses have been reported throughout the county, most of which Fielding believes involves the H1N1 virus. Also, 132 people have been admitted to hospital intensive care units.

Fielding said the first round of free public health vaccine clinics for residents who don't have health insurance will begin Oct. 23.

The clinics will be held throughout the county at community centers, parks and churches. The H1N1 vaccine will be available in injectable flu shots, FluMist nasal spray and thimerosal-free vaccine.

The schedule of clinics can be obtained by logging onto www.publichealth or lacounty.gov or by calling 211 from a land-line telephone or cellular telephone.

Although no one will be turned away, Fielding is strongly urging those at the highest risk for complications to get the vaccine. This includes: pregnant women; young people ages 6 months to 24 years old; people who live with or care for infants under 6 months old; health care workers who have direct contact with patients; emergency room personnel; and people ages 25 to 64 who have health conditions that put them at higher risk of flu-related complications.

For those with health insurance, Fielding said they should call their doctors by the end of the week to see if the H1N1 vaccine has arrived yet.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20091015/LIVING07/710159909