Banner preps for next wave of H1N1 flu
Mitchell Vantrease
Daily News-Sun
PHOENIX (Aug. 19, 2009) -- A Banner Health Care doctor fears the "perfect storm" this fall as seasonal and swine flus converge and pose risks for the "very young and the very old."
And Dr. Felipe Gutierrez, director of Banner Health’s antimicrobial management team, is not alone.
The number of flu cases could potentially dwarf those seen during the first international outbreak in April. In Maricopa County alone, one out of four individuals could fall ill, according to the Department of Public Health.
Jeneane Fowler, a county health department spokeswoman, said those estimates are based on history. "What they’re (the federal government) looking at is the 1918 pandemic," she said. "It started just the way our first wave did. Really it was just like a little blip on the radar screen."
"We might have the perfect storm that we’re dealing with, where we’ll have both the regular flu and the swine flu to treat at the same time," Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said the "very young and the very old" are susceptible to contracting the swine flu or H1N1 virus. In the last year, however, 65-year-olds and younger have been below the average in getting the bug.
Caryn Saib, director of emergency management for Banner Health, said hospital officials don’t expect a shortage of the seasonal vaccine. "Banner is putting on a united front to prevent a swine flu outbreak," Saib said.
Health-care facilities will first receive the regular flu vaccine, and the swine flu vaccine will be delivered later.
Officials have encouraged people to get both shots, Gutierrez said.
"You just never know what might happen," he said.
If a patient feels symptoms, though, Banner Health hospitals are no longer providing the one-hour Rapid Response H1N1 tests.
Microbiologists and infectious disease specialists at Banner Health made the decision because the test results frequently were incorrect. The test has been particularly known to deliver false negatives, providing a false security to patients and their families.
"You might as well flip a coin," said Banner Good Samaritan microbiologist Dr. Michael Saubolle regarding the test’s inadequacies.
About 50 percent of patients with negative findings on the rapid test were later discovered to have the virus.
The standard test, which provides test results in 24 to 72 hours, is more accurate and gives patients and their physicians better direction for treatment and infection control procedures. This test will continue to be offered at Banner Health medical centers.
