Mich. flu cases rise; H1N1 is suspected

Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News

It's nearly summer, but scores of Michigan children are stricken with fever, cough, sore throat and other symptoms that their pediatricians suspect is swine flu.

"It's really surprising at this time because usually all the influenza germs are gone," said George Blum, a Bingham Farms pediatrician.

Seasonal flu typically peaks anywhere from December through March, doctors say, but the number of confirmed cases of H1N1, or swine flu, is still on the rise. The number has spiked 40 percent since last week, from 298 cases to 418 cases, the Michigan Department of Community Health announced Tuesday.

Health officials say the increase does not reflect new flu cases because the numbers include many that were backlogged since mid May.

Of the 418 confirmed cases statewide, children are suffering most often: 72 percent are 18 and under.

But whether or not the children who are bombarding doctors' offices have H1N1 or the closely related Influenza A virus is unclear. The Michigan Department of Community Health has stopped accepting samples from the community health departments to confirm the H1N1 strain.

"We have enough information from the data," said Susan Bohm, an epidemiologist with the state health department. "We know the flu is out there."

Pediatricians are diagnosing children with Influenza A, sending them home with instructions to drink lots of fluids and telling them the swine flu strain isn't much different.

"They are really like Fords and Chevys," said pediatrician John Dorsey. "They're kind of like the same car."

The good news is that, while children are sick, Dorsey said their symptoms are not as severe as they were during flu season.

Among the children who are suffering is 8-year-old Bradley Jaworowski. After the onset of a headache, sore throat and a fever, Dorsey confirmed with a test that Bradley had the flu.

If Bradley doesn't get better, he won't be able to return to finish the school year at Green Acres Elementary School in Warren, said his father, Bruce Jaworowski.

"He isn't happy about it but he doesn't have much choice," Jaworowski said.

Last week, a 53-year-old Warren woman died from swine flu. No new Michigan deaths have been reported since then, but many adults also have fallen ill to the flu, including 16 Madison Heights police officers last week.

Seasonal flu typically starts in November and runs through May, doctors say. But the new H1N1 flu virus that emerged in the United States in April still hasn't subsided. This is not surprising even though flu season is over, said Marcus Zervos, division head of infectious disease for Henry Ford Health System.

This virus is new, Servos said, so people don't have immunity and it's been able to spread worldwide very quickly. There isn't a vaccine developed for it.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it may finally announce the first flu pandemic in 41 years, following a spike in swine flu cases in Australia and concern about a rise in the disease in Canada.

With warmer weather and summer recess on the horizon, health experts say the flu should subside.

"We still expect H1N1 to drop off in summer months, but it just hasn't happened yet," Zervos said.

kkozlowski@detnews.com (313) 222-2024 The Associated Press contributed.