“I think 7 of the 17 or 18 have been admitted to the ICU. So that’s a bit of a shift of what we saw before.”
The above comments describe an increase in sever H1N1 cases in children in Tennessee. The Children’s Medical Center (see map) had seen high numbers of patients in the fall, which led to the use of tents to cover the overload. The current spike is well below earlier levels, but the frequency of cases admitted to the ICU is higher.
The increase in severe cases represents the concerns linked to the H1N1 evolution and increased reports of D225G/N, which have been tightly associated with severe and fatal cases. In the fall, the number of exposed to H1N1 was high, leading to protective immunity and a sharp decline in cases. However, there current is virtually no seasonal influenza A in circulation in the United States, but the traditional flu season is beginning, which will likely lead to emergence of a new swine H1N1 strain.