On October 18, 1999 the Southern Nevada Health District , Office of Epidemiology implemented an Influenza Surveillance Program. The primary objective of the program is to monitor influenza-like illness (ILI) which is defined as a patient with fever >100°F (37.8° C) and cough or sore throat.
In response to the novel H1N1 outbreak in the Spring of 2009, the Southern Nevada Health District created the Enhanced Pediatric Influenza Surveillance (EPIS) project in June 2009. The EPIS project is supported by staff from the Office of Epidemiology and the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory and four pediatric clinics in Las Vegas. The goal of EPIS is to monitor what type of influenza viruses are circulating in the community.
2009 - 2010 Influenza Surveillance Reports
| April 3, 2010 PDF (446 KB/4 pages) |
| February 27, 2010 PDF (135 KB/4 pages) |
| January 30, 2010 PDF (135 KB/4 pages) |
| January 23, 2010 PDF (135 KB/4 pages) |
| January 16, 2010 PDF (135 KB/4 pages) |
| January 9, 2010 PDF (133 KB/4 pages) |
| January 2, 2010 PDF (137 KB/4 pages) |
| December 26, 2009 PDF (132 KB/4 pages) |
| December 19, 2009 PDF (121 KB/4 pages) |
| December 12, 2009 PDF (113 KB/4 pages) |
| December 5, 2009 PDF (133 KB/4 pages) |
| November 28, 2009 PDF (119 KB/4 pages) |
| November 21, 2009 PDF (326 KB/4 pages) |
| November 18, 2009 PDF (127 KB/4 pages) |
| November 10, 2009 PDF (117 KB/4 pages) |
| November 4, 2009 PDF (154 KB/4 pages) |
| October 28, 2009 PDF (122 KB/4 pages) |
| October 20, 2009 PDF (171 KB/4 pages) |
Visit the Influenza Surveillance Archive for previous flu season reports.
Enhanced Pediatric Influenza Surveillance
Monitoring Activities
Cases of ILI (fever >100 and cough or sore throat) are reported to the health district. The number of patients seen for any reason is also reported to the health district so that the percentage of patients seen for ILI by age can be calculated.
The percentage of patients with ILI by age is analyzed weekly to determine whether there are increases in the occurrence of ILI and if there are changes in the distribution by age.
Since reports of ILI are based on clinical impression, it is important to determine whether there are cases of influenza in the community that have been confirmed by laboratory tests. A limited number of nasopharyngeal swabs are obtained on patients presenting with the above symptoms within 48 hours of symptom onset.
Cultures that are positive for influenza A or B are submitted to Nevada State Health Laboratory for subtyping. As noted above this information is needed to determine whether the current vaccine is effective against the influenza virus currently circulating and also to plan for the next year’s vaccine.
Results of information from clinical and laboratory reports are disseminated on a weekly basis to the participating sentinel sites, the Nevada State Health Division and to the Centers for Disease Control.
Influenza Vaccine Information
The vaccine strains chosen for the 2009-2010 season include A/Brisbane/59/2007(H1N1)-like virus; A/Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2)-like virus; B/Brisbane 60/2008-like antigens. These strains were chosen because research indicates they will cause the most illness during the flu season.
The influenza vaccine is generally safe. Persons with severe allergic reactions to eggs should not receive influenza vaccine, since the vaccine is prepared from influenza viruses grown in eggs. The most common side effect is mild soreness at the injection site. Serious side effects such as life-threatening allergic reactions or Guillain-Barré syndrome are rare (fewer than 1-2 cases per million vaccine recipients); however persons with a past history of Guillain-Barré syndrome or with allergy to thimerosal (a preservative) should not receive the vaccine. Anyone currently ill with fever >101°F should delay immunization.
The health district administers the inactivated influenza vaccination at a cost of $30 per person. For further information regarding influenza vaccine, please visit our Flu Vaccine webpage or call our immunization program at (702) 759-0850.
