New York State Department of Health 2009-2010 Flu Monitoring

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) monitors flu in New York State (NYS). Detailed information about flu monitoring in New York City (NYC) is available directly from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH) website.

Key findings from current flu monitoring systems for the week ending September 12, 2009, include:

  • The overall level of flu activity is currently low and appears to be slightly increasing when compared to last week.
  • The number of people hospitalized with flu is currently low and appears to be not changing when compared to last week.
  • The number of people dying with flu is currently low and appears to be not changing when compared to last week.

Testing for Flu - Statewide (NYS and NYC)

  • All laboratories (public, private, hospital, commercial, etc.) that perform testing on residents of the state report all positive flu test results.
  • Test results may identify Flu Type A, Flu Type B, or Flu without specifying Type A or B. Some tests only give a positive or negative result and cannot identify flu type (unknown).
  • There are two main types of flu viruses-Type A and Type B. Type A flu viruses can be broken down further into 3 common subtypes. Each subtype has a slightly different genetic makeup from the other. Novel H1N1 flu is one of the subtypes of Flu Type A.

All Positive Flu Reports for week ending 9/12/09

Week ending Flu A Flu B Flu, type unknown
September 12 63 5 0

All Positive Flu Reports (season to date, by week)

Week ending Flu A Flu B Flu, type unknown Total
September 5 36 2 2 40
September 12 63 5 0 68

Public Health Testing for Flu

  • Wadsworth Center, the NYSDOH public health laboratory, tests a subset of NYS residents from two sources:
    • A select group of doctors from around the state send samples from patients with complaints of illness consistent with flu that they see in their offices.
    • A select group of hospitals from around the state send samples from patients who are admitted to the hospital with complaints of illness consistent with flu.
  • The New York City Public Health Laboratory tests a subset of NYC residents. Results of this testing are reported on the NYCDOHMH website.

Subtypes Tested at Wadsworth Center for week ending 9/12/09

Influenza A Influenza B Influenza, type unknown Novel H1N1
0 0 0 7

Doctors' Office Visits for Flu – Sentinel Providers in NYS (outside of NYC)

  • The NYSDOH works with a select group of doctors ("sentinel providers") across the state who report the total number of patients they saw and the total number of those patients with complaints of illness consistent with flu every week.
  • This graph represents the percent of visits to these sentinel providers that were for patients with complaints of illness consistent with flu.

Percent of Visits to NYS (Outside of NYC) Sentinel Providers for Flu (season to date, by week)

Week ending New York State Regional Baseline
August 29 0.83% 2.90%
September 12 0.67%

Note: A single sentinel provider in Tompkins County is currently experiencing a large outbreak of flu-like illness and data from this provider have been excluded from this graph.

Emergency Department Visits for Flu-Syndromic Surveillance for NYS (outside of NYC)

  • Hospitals around NYS report the number of patients seen in their emergency departments with complaints of illness consistent with flu. This is called "syndromic surveillance."
  • An increase in visits to hospital emergency departments can be one sign that flu has arrived in that part of NYS.
  • "Syndromic surveillance" does not reveal the actual cause of illness.
  • "Syndromic surveillance" information specific to hospitals in NYC can be found on the NYCDOHMH website.

Flu-like Illness in NYS Hospital Emergency Departments as Percentage of Total Emergency Department Visits, by Region (year to date)

Week Ending Region
Central Hudson Valley Long Island Capital & Northeast Buffalo & Rochester
Jan 10 2009 4.4% 4.8% 5.9% 4.2% 4.1%
Jan 17 2009 4.3% 4.8% 5.9% 4.3% 4.0%
Jan 24 2009 4.5% 5.7% 6.3% 4.5% 4.4%
Jan 31 2009 5.4% 6.4% 7.7% 5.0% 4.9%
Feb 7 2009 5.6% 7.1% 8.1% 5.2% 5.3%
Feb 14 2009 6.3% 8.4% 8.6% 5.7% 5.8%
Feb 21 2009 6.9% 8.0% 8.0% 6.7% 6.5%
Feb 28 2009 7.4% 6.9% 6.7% 6.0% 5.8%
Mar 7 2009 9.0% 6.7% 6.1% 6.2% 7.0%
Mar 14 2009 8.6% 6.0% 5.6% 6.4% 7.5%
Mar 21 2009 8.8% 5.7% 5.3% 6.2% 7.1%
Mar 28 2009 8.1% 5.4% 5.6% 6.4% 6.5%
Apr 4 2009 7.5% 4.8% 5.4% 5.7% 5.8%
Apr 11 2009 6.1% 4.8% 5.3% 4.9% 5.1%
Apr 18 2009 5.8% 4.5% 5.0% 4.8% 4.8%
Apr 25 2009 5.0% 4.5% 4.6% 4.3% 4.1%
May 2 2009 7.1% 9.0% 9.8% 6.1% 6.1%
May 9 2009 7.0% 7.6% 7.5% 5.9% 5.4%
May 16 2009 5.5% 6.9% 7.7% 4.8% 4.8%
May 23 2009 5.9% 11.3% 13.5% 5.5% 4.9%
May 30 2009 6.0% 13.4% 14.7% 5.3% 4.8%
Jun 6 2009 6.4% 14.0% 13.3% 5.5% 5.2%
Jun 13 2009 7.2% 13.6% 12.9% 6.2% 6.8%
Jun 20 2009 7.5% 12.2% 11.7% 6.4% 8.5%
Jun 27 2009 6.3% 10.0% 9.5% 6.6% 10.9%
Jul 4 2009 5.5% 7.4% 7.3% 5.0% 7.8%
Jul 11 2009 5.0% 5.9% 5.9% 4.8% 5.6%
Jul 18 2009 4.3% 5.1% 5.0% 4.0% 4.6%
Jul 25 2009 4.3% 5.0% 5.0% 3.9% 4.4%
Aug 1 2009 4.6% 4.7% 4.7% 4.1% 4.2%
Aug 8 2009 4.1% 4.6% 5.0% 3.7% 4.0%
Aug 15 2009 4.7% 4.8% 4.8% 3.6% 3.8%
Aug 22 2009 4.5% 4.9% 4.5% 3.7% 3.8%
Aug 29 2009 4.9% 5.0% 4.8% 4.1% 3.9%
Sep 5 2009 4.7% 4.9% 4.7% 4.0% 4.1%
Sep 12 2009 5.4% 5.0% 4.8% 4.6% 4.7%

Flu-like Illness in NYS Hospital Emergency Departments as Percentage of Total Emergency Department Visits, by Region (3 month snapshot)

Week Ending Region
Central Hudson Valley Long Island Capital & Northeast Buffalo & Rochester
Jun 20 2009 7.5% 12.2% 11.7% 6.4% 8.5%
Jun 27 2009 6.3% 10.0% 9.5% 6.6% 10.9%
Jul 4 2009 5.5% 7.4% 7.3% 5.0% 7.8%
Jul 11 2009 5.0% 5.9% 5.9% 4.8% 5.6%
Jul 18 2009 4.3% 5.1% 5.0% 4.0% 4.6%
Jul 25 2009 4.3% 5.0% 5.0% 3.9% 4.4%
Aug 1 2009 4.6% 4.7% 4.7% 4.1% 4.2%
Aug 8 2009 4.1% 4.6% 5.0% 3.7% 4.0%
Aug 15 2009 4.7% 4.8% 4.8% 3.6% 3.8%
Aug 22 2009 4.5% 4.9% 4.5% 3.7% 3.8%
Aug 29 2009 4.9% 5.0% 4.8% 4.1% 3.9%
Sep 5 2009 4.7% 4.9% 4.7% 4.0% 4.1%
Sep 12 2009 5.4% 5.0% 4.8% 4.6% 4.7%

Hospitalizations for Flu – Statewide (NYS and NYC)

  • All hospitals in NYS and NYC report to NYSDOH the number of patients admitted to their hospital with a positive flu test (any type of test, for any type of flu).
  • For the week ending 9/5/09, 69% of hospitals statewide completed the report.

Age Groups for Hospitalized Flu Patients for week ending 9/5/09

0-23 Months 2-18 Years 18-64 Years 65+ Years
2 8 8 1

Pediatric Deaths Associated with Flu - Statewide (NYS and NYC)

  • Since December 2004, flu-associated deaths in children younger than 18 years old have been reportable in NYS.

Pediatric Deaths Associated with Flu Statewide (NYS and NYC) for week ending 9/12/09

Age Newly identified last week Total season to date (since 9/1/09)
0-4 years 0 0
5-17 years 0 0

Pediatric Flu Deaths - Statewide (season to date, by month)

Season October November December January February March April May June July August September Total for the Season
2006-2007 0 0 0 1 3 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 9
2007-2008 0 0 0 1 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 8
2008-2009 0 0 0 1 3 3 0 2 3 4 0 0 18
2009-2010 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Adult Deaths Associated with Flu - NYS (outside of NYC)

  • With the emergence of novel H1N1 flu in Spring 2009, the NYSDOH began asking doctors in NYS (outside of NYC) to report all flu-associated deaths in adults.
  • Counts of flu-associated deaths may underestimate the actual number of deaths because many people with flu are not tested and because flu testing misses some cases.
  • NYCDOHMH uses a different system to track flu-associated deaths in adults. More information on flu-associated deaths in NYC adults can be found on the NYCDOHMH website.

Adult Deaths Associated with Flu in NYS (outside of NYC) for week ending 9/12/09

Age Newly identified last week Total season to date (since 9/1/09)
18-24 years 2 2
25-47 over 0 0
47-65 over 0 0
65 years and over 0 0