This is an official CDC HEALTH ADVISORY
Distributed via Health Alert Network
Friday, December 19, 2003, 21:45 EST (09:45 PM EST)
CDCHAN-00172-03-12-19-ADV-N
Request for Reports of All Deaths among Children With Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza Virus Infection
During the 2003-04 influenza season, severe complications
from influenza and influenza-associated deaths among children have been
reported by several states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
requests that health care providers report all deaths associated with
laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infection among children younger than 18
years of age to their state health department. Contact information for each
state health department is available on the Council of State and Territorial
Epidemiologists’ website http://www.cste.org/members/state_and_territorial_epi.asp.
State health departments are asked to report information
about these fatal cases to CDC. A death is considered to be
influenza-associated if a diagnosis of influenza has been made based on
laboratory testing of clinical or autopsy specimens, by one or more of the
following:
a. Viral culture
b. Direct fluorescent
antibody (DFA) staining
c. Reverse
transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
d. Rapid influenza
diagnostic test
e. Enzyme immunoassay
(EIA)
f. Immunohistochemical
staining of autopsy tissue
In addition, cases of influenza-associated encephalopathy in
persons younger than 18 years of age should also be reported to the state
health department.
##This Message
was distributed to State and Local Health Officers, Public Information Officers, Epidemiologists, Laboratory Directors, HAN Coordinators, Associations and Clinician Organizations##
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