Influenza (Flu) Surveillance in Vermont
- Flu Activity
- Flu Testing & Lab Reports
- Flu Reporting
- Contact Information
- Sentinel Providers
- Resources
Click on Map for Current US Flu Activity Level
Flu Activity
The level of flu activity is updated weekly or when there is a change in status.
Widespread: Outbreaks of influenza or increases in ILI cases and recent laboratory-confirmed influenza in at least half the regions of the state.
Updated: November 18, 2009
Activity Level Information
- No Activity: No laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza and no reported increase in the number of cases of influenza-like illness (ILI). ILI is defined as a fever of > 100 ° F and cough and/or sore throat.
- Sporadic: Small numbers of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases, or a single influenza outbreak has been reported, but there is no increase in cases of ILI.
- Local: Outbreaks of influenza or increases in ILI cases and recent laboratory-confirmed influenza in a single region of the state.
- Regional: Outbreak of influenza or increases in influenza-like illness in at least two but less than half the regions of the state, with recent laboratory confirmed influenza in the affected regions.
- Widespread: Outbreaks of influenza or increases in ILI cases and recent laboratory-confirmed influenza in at least half the regions of the state.
Activity level is reported weekly by states to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the flu season, a map of national flu activity levels is available from the CDC at www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluactivity.htm.
Vermont has five influenza surveillance regions: Northeast, Northwest, Central, Southeast and Southwest.
Activity level is assessed using data from Vermont sentinel providers, syndromic surveillance from several hospitals, and reports of flu outbreaks from schools, nursing homes, other group settings and laboratory reports.
Laboratory: Influenza Testing and Report
The Health Department Laboratory offers influenza testing throughout the year. Due to limited resources and to the limited value a viral culture has in patient management, the Health Department will only provide influenza viral cultures to:
- Sentinel providers.
- Emergency departments enrolled in the Early Aberration Reporting System (EARS).
- Long-term care centers or other institutions experiencing influenza-like illness outbreaks.
- Providers with special circumstances (e.g., has a patient with a serious illness or complication that might be due to influenza or has a patient who is hospitalized with an influenza-like illness)
Sentinel providers as well as EARS enrollees are provided influenza viral culture kits at no cost. This helps influenza surveillance efforts by supplying the Laboratory with specimens that can be used to further characterize influenza.
Long-term care centers and other institutions experiencing outbreaks of influenza-like illness or providers with special circumstances will be provided with free influenza viral culture kits. Please arrange testing by calling:
1-802-863-7240 or 1-800-640-4374.
Positive influenza viral cultures are reported by laboratories to the Health Department. Positive rapid flu tests are reported weekly by aggregate numbers from hospital laboratories. Numbers of positive tests may not accurately reflect actual flu activity, since the amount of testing done may vary from practice to practice and from region to region. Also, many people with influenza-like illness do not seek medical care, and not everyone with ILI who sees a medical provider needs to be tested.
For influenza culture supplies and laboratory information, medical providers may call the Health Department Laboratory at 1-800-660-9997 or 802-863-7335.
For information about rapid diagnostic influenza tests visit the CDC web site: www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/labdiagnosis.htm
For H5N1 analysis, see: Guidelines for Submitting Specimens for Influenza H5N1 Analysis (pdf)
Influenza Surveillance Charts
Health care providers submit specimens to the Health Department Laboratory for influenza testing. These tests allow us to determine the presence and type of influenza virus in the specimen. Since influenza viruses are constantly evolving, this information serves as an indicator of which types are currently circulating in the community.
Influenza Testing
Influenza Testing by VDH Lab |
Specimens tested Nov. 8 - Nov. 14 |
No. of specimens tested |
127* |
Positive specimens |
70 (55.1%)* |
Positive specimens by type/subtype: |
|
Influenza A |
70 (100.0%)* |
A (novel H1N1) |
69 (98.6%)* |
A (H1) |
0 (0%) |
A (H3) |
0 (0%) |
A (not subtyped) |
0 (0.0%) |
A (unable to subtype; low viral load) |
1 (1.4 )* |
A (unsubtypable; sent to CDC for further analysis) |
0 (0%) |
Influenza B |
0 (0.0%) |
*An additional 5 specimens, which had been confirmed as influenza A by a private laboratory using RT-PCR, were submitted to the VDH lab for sub-typing; 4 were sub-typed as A (novel H1N1) and one was unable to be subtyped due to low viral load.
Influenza Isolate Typing Chart
Displays weekly laboratory results from respiratory specimens submitted to the Health Department Laboratory for influenza testing. Influenza viruses identified in positive specimens are typed as influenza A or B. The influenza A isolates are further subtyped as H1 or H3 (seasonal) or as 2009 H1N1. A subset of Vermont's positive specimens are sent to CDC for further antigenic characterization and for antiviral resistance testing.
Influenza-like Illness Hospital Visit Trends
The Health Department collects data on emergency room visits and unplanned admissions from seven (7) Vermont hospitals (representing 78% of the state’s hospital beds). The information is analyzed using the CDC’s Early Aberration Reporting System program to identify trends in hospital visits for certain categories of illness. The graph compares 2009 visits for respiratory complaints to historic levels.
Updated: November 18, 2009
Influenza Reporting
See also: Communicable Disease Reporting in Vermont
Disease Reporting
Health care providers are required by law to report diseases of public health importance.
Cases of reportable diseases should be reported to the Department of Health within 24 hours.
- Communicable Disease Regulations (pdf)
- Reportable Disease List for Providers (pdf)
- Department of Health Contact Numbers
Persons who are required to report:
- health care facilities
- health care providers
- health maintenance organizations
- hospital administrators
- laboratory directors
- managed care organizations
- nurse practitioners
- nurses
- physician assistants
- physicians
- school health officials
- town health officers
Reportable by medical providers, hospitals, school health officials:
- Pediatric influenza-related deaths
- Institutional outbreaks
Reportable by laboratories:
- Positive viral cultures
- Weekly aggregate # of positive rapid influenza tests
Contact Information
Department of Health - General Information
800-464-4343 (toll free in Vermont)
802-863-7200
TTY/TDD: Dial 711 first
Fax: 802-865-7754
Epidemiology
800-640-4374 (toll free in Vermont)
802-863-7240
24 hours a day, weekends and holidays
Laboratory
800-660-9997 (toll free in Vermont)
802-863-7335
Immunization Program
800-464-4343 (toll free in Vermont)
802-863-7638
Influenza Surveillance Coordinator
800-640-4374 (toll free in Vermont)
802-863-7240
Sentinel Provider Surveillance
Influenza sentinel providers conduct surveillance for influenza-like illness (ILI) in collaboration with Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Data reported by sentinel providers, in combination with other influenza surveillance data, provide a national picture of influenza virus and ILI activity in the United States. Sentinels report the total number of patient visits each week and the number of patient visits for influenza-like illness by age group.
Eighteen sentinel providers in 11 counties are currently enrolled in the Vermont network. Sentinels generally report during the official flu season while several report year-round.
Counties with Sentinel Reporters
- Addison
- Bennington
- Caledonia
- Chittenden
- Franklin
- Essex
- Orleans
- Rutland
- Washington
- Windham
- Windsor
Become a Sentinal Provider
New sentinel providers in any type of practice (family practice and internal medicine, urgent care centers, emergency rooms, college student health centers, pediatric practices) are invited to join the network at any time throughout the year.
For more information contact 1-800-640-4374 or 802-863-7240.