The first outbreak of influenza confirmed by virus isolation in
the contiguous states for the 1983-1984 season occurred in a home
for
retarded children in Louisiana. Of 44 children at the home, 33
(75%)
experienced a febrile illness (temperature 38.3 C (101 F) or
greater)
between January 2 and January 4, 1984. Four cases among young
adult
staff and a volunteer worker occurred at the same time, and six
additional cases, three in children and three in adults, were
reported
from January 5 to January 7. Two type A(H1N1) influenza viruses
have
been isolated from specimens collected on January 5 from ill
children. CDC has received preliminary reports of other possible
outbreaks of influenza, mainly among college students and
schoolchildren from areas in the South Atlantic and South Central
regions, which are under investigation.
Three additional states have reported their first influenza
virus
isolations for the current season. In Denver, Colorado, two
isolates
of type A(H1N1) virus were obtained from children; in Nashville,
Tennessee, two isolates of type A(H3N2) virus were obtained from
young
siblings; and in Oregon, a type B virus was obtained from a
35-year-old man.
Reported by RL Guy, MD, New Orleans, J McMichael, ET Wood, S Guey,
DDS, Commissioner, Plaquemines Parish Health Dept, R Gohd, PhD,
Charity Hospital, New Orleans, K Kelso, L McFarland, DrPH, CT
Caraway,
DVM, State Epidemiologist, Louisiana State Dept of Health; G
Meiklejohn, MD, University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver; P
Wright, MD, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; B Matsuda,
MPH, Oregon Public Health Laboratory; State Epidemiologists and
Laboratory Directors; Div of Field Svcs, Epidemiology Program
Office,
Influenza Br, Div of Viral Diseases, Center for Infectious
Diseases,
CDC.
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