Swine flu's impact shifts during second wave, study finds

[Ian David]

Swine flu's impact shifts during second wave, study finds
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff

When swine flu arrived in Boston last spring, children and teenagers disproportionately bore the brunt of the novel viral infection. But when a second wave of illness swept the city in the fall, it was young and middle-aged adults who were most affected, according to a city report released today.

The analysis from the Boston Public Health Commission provides a detailed portrait of swine flu's march across the city, showing the disease's disparate impact. In the spring, for example, East Boston had some of the highest estimated levels of H1N1 cases; in the fall, it had some of the lowest. During both waves, a high rate of cases was reported in Allston-Brighton, Fenway, North Dorchester, Roxbury, and South Dorchester.

Specialists in tracking influenza have long recognized that children are prime spreaders of the disease, and the Boston findings appear to provide further evidence of the virus' migration from the young to the older. In the spring, 60 percent of reported H1N1 cases were in youngsters up to age 17, while 31 percent of cases were among adults 18 to 44. By the fall, the balance had shifted dramatically: Children accounted for just 37 percent of cases, with young and middle-aged adults comprising 44 percent of cases.

The report also affirmed an earlier finding that the city's African-American and Hispanic communities were especially hard-hit by H1N1 during both the spring and fall waves.

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/health/blog/2010/01/swine_flus_impa.html?camp=localsearch:on:twit:hp

I was finally able to get my H1N1 shot on Saturday. Whew!

[endless october]

1. glad you got the shot.

glad that i got the shot, as well. i looked all over for it before i found a dose a month or so ago. but it ended up being free, which was really cool.