The pandemic H1N1 influenza (flu) was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the H1N1 flu virus had spread to enough countries to be considered a global pandemic. Southwest District Health’s first positive case was reported in June 2009.

A pandemic is a worldwide outbreak of a new strain of flu virus, to which people have little or no immunity and it spreads easily from person to person. This pandemic stage does not mean that the disease is deadlier or more severe, just that it has spread to more countries.

Although it had been over forty years since the last Hong Kong Influenza pandemic occurred in 1968, pandemic flu is not new. Records show that about thirty influenza pandemics and numerous “pandemic threats” have occurred throughout history. Therefore, Southwest District Health had planned and exercised in preparation for such an event, hoping of course it would not actually occur.

This virus was originally referred to as “swine flu” because laboratory testing showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs (swine) in North America. But further study determined this new virus was very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs.

In general, illness in the U.S. ranged from mild to severe, and most people that tested positive for the virus recovered without requiring medical treatment.  Unlike seasonal flu, younger people suffered a disproportionate share of the confirmed cases of H1N1 flu. The same was true in Southwest Idaho and in Idaho cases in general.

During a typical flu season Southwest District Health (SWDH) administers anywhere from 2,500 to 5,000 vaccinations within their clinics. During the H1N1 pandemic, SWDH held 231 mass vaccination clinics within Southwest Idaho and 55,961 individuals were vaccinated.

According to Bruce Krosch, District Director for Southwest District Health, “H1N1 pushed our health district to meet new standards and challenges that we have never experienced before. I am proud to say that by working together, our staff, contract workers, volunteers, and community partners met the challenge by performing well beyond our expectations.”

Novel H1N1 Influenza Overview in Health District 3

• 189 confirmed cases have been reported among health district 3 residents since Novel H1N1 emerged in April 2009 (Tested dates range from 6/4/2009 – 3/11/2010)

Note: (Laboratory-confirmed deaths are thought to represent an undercount of the actual number. CDC has provided estimates about the number of 2009 H1N1 cases and related hospitalizations and deaths).

• 104 reported cases were female and 85 reported cases were male
• Age range: 6.7 to 79/6 years  Median Age: 17.3 years

• 42 hospitalizations
• 4 deaths (All hospitalized; three males and one female;  ages 28, 50, 54, 56)
• Cases by county: 167 cases Canyon (88.4%); 10 cases Owyhee (5.3%); 6 cases Gem (3.2%); 3 cases Washington (1.6%);  2 cases Payette (1.1%); 1 case Adams (0.5%)
• Ethnicity: 61.4% Non-Hispanic (116), 31.2% Hispanic (59), 7.4% unknown (14)
• Race: 83.1% White, 14.8% unknown, 1.1% Black/African American, 0.5% American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.5% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
• Below is a graph that shows flu incidence for reported cases in Southwest District Health

• Southwest District Health received H1N1 vaccine during the first week of October 2009.
• Southwest District Health held the first Closed Vaccination Clinic (POD) for first responders, volunteers, contract workers, and staff on October 8, 2010.
• The first Vaccination Clinic open to the public was held on October 17, 2010.
• The last Vaccination Clinic open to the public was held at the end of January, 2010.

• There were 231 vaccination clinics held in Southwest Idaho and 55,961 individuals were vaccinated.
• School vaccinations in Southwest Idaho began in October 2009. Forty of sixty-three schools participated in vaccination clinics. Twenty percent of the school students, aged 18 and under, received H1N1 vaccine.
• Southwest District Health utilized community partners to administer vaccine. These partners included medical offices, hospitals, pharmacies, universities, nursing home, assisted living facilities, Duck Valley Indian Reservation, Job Corps, Home Health Hospice, Idaho State School & Hospital, Dept. of Corrections, Juvenile Corrections, and community health clinics.
• In the H1N1 clinics that Southwest District Health organized, in addition to staff and contract workers, more than seventy volunteers worked from 1.2 hours to 86 hours of time, from mid-October until the end of January. This is equivalent to a conservative estimate of $19,270 in volunteer time logged, using current rates for volunteerism. (This does not include Gem County’s volunteer pool organized by Walter Knox Memorial Hospital.)

• IDHW Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report
• Update CDC Estimates of 2009 H1N1 4/10/2010
• Flu.gov
• Pan Flu Idaho
• Ready Idaho.org
• 2009 H1N1 Pandemic: Summary Highlights
• WHO Pandemic (H1N1) 2009: frequently asked questions
• WHO What is post-pandemic?
• Timeline of Human Flu Pandemics
• Facts and Figures about 2009 H1N1 CDC

• Stay at Home when ill
• Cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
• Wash hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizers frequently
• Try to maintain at least six feet from others exhibiting flu-like symptoms
• To kill the flu virus on surfaces, use detergents, disinfectants, bleach and other normal household cleansers.

• When sneezing or coughing, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or upper arm at the elbow
• Dispose of used tissues in a wastebasket and wash hands after coughing, sneezing, or blowing nose
• Use warm water and soap or alcohol-based hand sanitizers to clean hands
• Wash hands before eating or touching eyes, nose, or mouth

• Are nonperishable and don't require refrigeration.
• Are easy to prepare in case you are unable to cook.
• Require little or no water, so you can conserve water for drinking.

• Wash hands frequently with soap and water.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• Put used tissues in a waste basket.
• Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve if you don't have a tissue.
• Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing. Use soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Stay home if you are sick.
• Try to remain at least six feet away from anyone exhibiting flu-like symptoms
• Get an annual flu shot to help protect yourself from seasonal flu.