Southern California Viral Isolates

Still no RSV activity to speak of, just a few positives circulating. The big news is that we have quite a bit of Parainfluenza (mostly type 2, but all types are circulating in the community). This is the reason we are seeing so much croup in our clinics and emergency rooms! Stay tuned for RSV and influenza information. We have had a couple of influenza B positives and one influenza A reported in the last 3 weeks.

From the CDC: "The percentage of specimens testing positive for influenza identified so far in the United States is low. The largest numbers of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza have been reported in Regions 4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN) and 9 (AZ, CA, HI, NV)"

"Influenza viruses identified so far include 2009 H1N1 viruses, influenza A (H3N2) viruses and influenza B viruses. These viruses remain similar to the viruses chosen for the 2010-2011 flu vaccine, and remain susceptible to the antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir"

More can be found on the CDC's influenza website: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/
as well as on the LA County website:http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/Flu.htm