swine flu | newsobserver.com projects

Flu count near triple-digits

Submitted by markjohnson on June 16, 2009 - 5:29am.

A recent uptick in the number of pandemic flu cases confirmed in North Carolina reflects not only that the virus is circulating but also that surveillance is especially sensitive.

The state reported 96 cases on Friday -- including two among N.C. State University students. A UNC-Chapel Hill student had earlier been diagnosed with the new flu strain, and other cases were reported among grade school students in area counties.

The case count recently began rising in the low double digits each day, which state health leaders expected once the virus was confirmed as circulating. Flu spreads fairly easily in droplets from coughs and sneezes.

But other factors also account for the rising numbers, said Dr. Jeffrey Engel, state health director. He said two private laboratories recently gained the needed material to test flu samples for the novel virus. That has tripled the capacity to test possible cases, which had previously been conducted at the state public health lab in Raleigh. Here's the full story.

DHHS drops 'swine' from flu

Submitted by ryanteaguebeckwith on April 30, 2009 - 11:27am.

State public health workers are not calling it "swine flu" any more.

After hearing from the Centers for Disease Control last night, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services has decided to start calling the flu virus its tracking by its scientific name, the H1N1 virus.

Until this morning, the state had been calling it "swine flu" in press releases.

Pork Council: Nein on 'swine'

Submitted by ryanteaguebeckwith on April 29, 2009 - 4:21pm.

Tags: Deborah Johnson | N.C. Pork Council | swine flu | Tom Vilsack | Under the Dome

The N.C. Pork Council would prefer you not call it "swine flu."

The industry association for pork producers thinks the colloquial name for the virus being closely monitored by global health officials is inaccurate.

A national pork industry group has suggested "North American influenza" — a variant on the other alternative name, "Mexican flu," which has upset some officials from that country.

Officially, the virus is known as H1N1, after two of its proteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase.

In an e-mail to Dome, N.C. Pork Council spokeswoman Deborah Johnson said the linkage between pigs and the flu "should have never been made."

"This is not an issue of food safety so we'll keep hammering away with the messages that pork is safe to eat and there is no evidence this influenza subtype is present in pigs," she wrote.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has backed away from using the term "swine flu," though state officials are still using the term.

Correction: An earlier version of this post said the N.C. Pork Council supports the name "North American flu." The group prefers H1N1 flu.

Troxler avoids 'swine flu' name

Submitted by ryanteaguebeckwith on April 29, 2009 - 2:10pm.

Tags: Andrea Ashby | N.C. Department of Agriculture | Steve Troxler | swine flu | Under the Dome

Steve Troxler is not calling it "swine flu."

The state agriculture commissioner has told staff that he thinks the name for the influenza virus currently being tracked by health officials is a "misnomer."

"At this point, we've not found any evidence of it being in swine," said assistant director Andrea Ashby.

Internally, the state Department of Agriculture is referring to the official name of the virus, H1N1.

In a press release Monday, it called it the "swine influenza virus H1N1."

But a summary on the department's home page refers only to its technical name.

"At this time, no pigs in the United States have been found to be infected or sick with the H1N1 flu virus," the message reads.

Previously: N.C. Pork Council doesn't like "swine" flu.