Overall, influenza-like illness activity in Wisconsin is higher than normal and sporadic cases of H1N1 have been identified statewide, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
The southern region has a higher number of H1N1 cases due to a large number of cases at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, although UW-Madison reports that the number of students they saw for influenza-like symptoms declined last week. The other four public health regions - northeastern, northern, southeastern and western - report low influenza-like illness activity.
With schools now open statewide, it is expected that influenza-like illnesses will increase.
Information from emergency room admissions and family practitioners indicates there was a slight rise in H1N1 cases the past two weeks, but those emergency room admissions have already started to decline. A decline in cases is not typical of what you see in accelerated influenza activity, so it is expected that Wisconsin has not begun to experience widespread H1N1 influenza activity.
No H1N1 viruses in the state have been resistant to anti-virals and 99 percent of laboratory confirmed cases in Wisconsin have been identified as H1N1. Wisconsin had 8 deaths related to H1N1 influenza and 239 hospitalizations between April 25 and Aug. 29. New hospitalization and death rates are being calculated since Sept. 1, and Wisconsin had six hospitalizations and no deaths since then.
