In the news today: What's happening with H1N1 flu

Of those who have died from swine flu, or H1N1 flu, virus complications in Michigan, the majority were male, between the ages of 45 and 64 and likely had underlying conditions, state health officials said today.

State health officials offered some details today about H1N1 deaths and are urging awareness about the disparate risk for complications among those with diabetes.

In Michigan, at least 41 people have died from H1N1 flu complications. The case fatality rate of the H1N1 flu virus is less than 0.1 percent - and about the same as the seasonal flu virus, officials said.

Investigations into 39 of the deaths have been completed.

A swine flu vaccination clinic Saturday was flooded with people.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

Of those 39 deaths, 32 of those people had some sort of underlying health condition and 9 of those patients had diabetes.

It's estimated at least 927,200 Michigan adults have diabetes, state officials said.

There have been 1,226 hospitalizations in Michigan due to H1N1 flu complications since the beginning of September. The highest hospitalization rate due to H1N1 complications has occurred among those younger than 4 years old.

To date, Washtenaw County health officials have reported no deaths among county residents. There have been 44 hospitalizations among county residents, with 12 of them occurring in the week ending Nov. 7.

According to a Detroit News report, officials are pushing diabetics to continue to search for the vaccine, even though it is scarce.

"People with diabetes should get the vaccine as soon as it is available," said Gregory Holzman, state chief medical executive, who stressed last week that asthmatics should get the vaccine.

Public wants input on pandemic response

When it comes to putting together a response to the swine flu virus - or any other pandemic infection - public health officials may do well to listen more closely to their main audience: the public.

In a University of Michigan study based on response of focus groups in southeastern Michigan, participants largely said any prolonged school, business and religious organization closures to prevent spread of illness would be particularly burdensome.

But respondents also tended to support measures if they were able to weigh in and better understand them, said lead author Nancy Baum.

“We saw a lot of community-mindedness that people realized they had a duty not to infect other people,” said Baum, a U-M doctoral candidate in the School of Public Health. "It was a fairly-nuanced conversation.”

The study is to be published this week in the American Journal of Bioethics.

Researchers conducted the study last summer and had participants respond to measures taken in the case of a hypothetical pandemic with a greater mortality than both the H1N1 flu virus and the seasonal flu virus, which have comparable death rates.

Participants were asked to respond to different public health measures, such as closure of schools, businesses and religious organizations. Many indicated they were quite concerned about the economic and social hardships that would be posed by closures.

For instance, the preventative closure of schools might require parents to remain home with their child during the day or lead to children staying home alone during the day.

Others were concerned about the feasibility of businesses or religious organizations closing for prolonged amounts of time. Many indicated a mistrust in the government giving accurate or timely information, Baum said.

“Leaders in public health need to consider the many challenges articulated by our community members about the closure of businesses, schools and other gathering places during a pandemic,” co-author Susan D. Goold, director of U-M’s Bioethics Program and professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, said in a release.

“Not surprisingly, they were concerned about financial consequences, but they also expressed concern about the feasibility of keeping children and teens isolated, and the need for spiritual gatherings during a crisis."

Baum cautioned against drawing broad conclusions based on the findings, but said it offered a good initial look at what would make pandemic preparedness planning more successful. The message to leaders in pandemic preparedness is that transparency seemed to positively impact potential public cooperation.

"If you make opportunity for people to be educated and contribute to the policy process, you might learn a great deal and make your response more effective,” Baum said.

Online vaccine finder

Still looking to get vaccinated?

Google completed an online Flu Shot Finder map for finding both the H1N1 flu vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine using its Google Maps tool.

Those using the tool can find local availability of clinics by typing in a zip code.

Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.