The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday urged labs nationwide to determine whether people hospitalized with the flu have seasonal influenza within 24 hours of admission. Bird flu is behind the growing outbreak. In dairy cows and poultry.
gave Guidance for laboratories This type of testing has been underway since last fall, but the process has been slow, with many hospitals sending flu samples in bulk every few days for testing.
By the time these results come back, patients are often already sent home, CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Niru Shah said during a media briefing Thursday.
This can be a hindrance. Investigation of bird flu. As the days and weeks pass, it becomes harder for people to remember where they may have contracted the virus.
“The more time passes, the more the memories fade and the more difficult it is to identify a possible source,” Shah said. What’s more, “their close contacts may be out of the window for preventative medications like Tamiflu.”
gave The latest CDC alert Bird flu testing should proceed more quickly, ideally within 24 hours of a person’s admission to hospital, he says.
“At the moment the system tells us what has happened. What we need is to move to a system that tells us what is happening at the moment,” Shah said.
Then comes the message from the CDC. Seasonal flu activity is high in the US.. The virus is spreading in most states, especially in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oregon and Tennessee.
The new guidance applies only to patients with influenza A. Bird flu, H5N1, is a subtype of influenza A. However, almost all seasonal flu at this time is also influenza A, particularly the H3N2 and H1N1 subtypes.
There are more specialized tools for determining which subtype of flu a person has. Most tests used in doctors’ offices only tell if a person has flu A or B.
“This is a step in the right direction,” said Dr. Alex Greeninger, a professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. “This will help illuminate the current landscape of the disease, and potentially pave the way for identifying any human-to-human transmission that may occur.”
The risk of contracting bird flu is high among people who work with dairy cattle, poultry, and wild birds. The risk of bird flu to the general population is low. There is no indication that the virus is spreading from person to person.
In fact, of more than 83,000 flu samples tested over the past year, only three cases were detected.
Still, Greeninger said, the increased effort “should have started months ago.”
Kelly Worblowski, senior director of infectious diseases for the Association of Public Health Laboratories, said the nation’s labs are “well positioned” to meet the increase in demand.
“It’s just an extra precaution, which puts us in a better prepared position,” Wroblewski said. There is no indication that the labs are missing cases of bird flu, he said.
An estimated 110,000 flu-related hospitalizations have occurred since the flu season began. The latest CDC report. Only 67 human cases of bird flu have been reported.
Most cases in people are mild. Only one person, one Older adults with primary Health conditionsis dead.
Almost all cases are linked to dairy cows and poultry.