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petmoosieIllinois and Wisconsin are marked (on the CDC map) as having a regional outbreak of H1N1. The Illinois Department of Health reports 707 confirmed cases, of which 519 are in Chicago or Cook County (If you don't already know, Cook County takes in most of the close-in suburbs of Chicago). DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will have double-digits numbers of cases (and account for most of the far-out suburbs of Chicago). Actually, I'm not 100% sure of the location of Will county, but I think it appears on my maps near Kane county. ETA: Will is near the border with Indiana in the north, but not right along the lake. I would still guess that it is a commuter suburb of Chicago.
Wisconsin has large numbers of cases in Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Dane counties. Primarily, Milwaukee with 508 out of Wisconsin's total of 765.
However, when I drill down on CDC's site, IL and WI are reported as having "normal" incidences of flu-like illness for this time of year. I wonder if these cities are also "normal", or if the cities are being drowned out by the non-city areas.
ETA: Why is this interesting? If the disease is widespread in many or all areas of the USA this spring and it comes back in the fall, the USA will need a lot less of the vaccine to protect it. People with prior exposure will be dead-ends for this virus. Of course, the risk from continued transmission in the USA this spring is that there is NO vaccine to protect the at-risk populations and that recombination risk increases with every case. On the other hand, the load of seasonal flu is lower and decreasing as the weather turns summery.
Wisconsin has large numbers of cases in Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Dane counties. Primarily, Milwaukee with 508 out of Wisconsin's total of 765.
However, when I drill down on CDC's site, IL and WI are reported as having "normal" incidences of flu-like illness for this time of year. I wonder if these cities are also "normal", or if the cities are being drowned out by the non-city areas.
ETA: Why is this interesting? If the disease is widespread in many or all areas of the USA this spring and it comes back in the fall, the USA will need a lot less of the vaccine to protect it. People with prior exposure will be dead-ends for this virus. Of course, the risk from continued transmission in the USA this spring is that there is NO vaccine to protect the at-risk populations and that recombination risk increases with every case. On the other hand, the load of seasonal flu is lower and decreasing as the weather turns summery.
