Swine flu thrives in heat; S.C. cases rise

The number of confirmed swine flu cases in South Carolina shot up by 34 in the last two weeks, an indication the H1N1 strain is unlike any seen in recent years.

"This is a new virus, and we don't know its behavior well," said state epidemiologist Dr. Jerry Gibson. "We're still learning. Its persistence does seems to be unusual."

Seasonal flu strains, while slightly different each year, tend to peak in the winter months and slack off as the weather warms.

The first swine flu cases showed up in South Carolina when a group from Newberry Academy returned from a mid-April trip to Mexico, where health officials believe the H1N1 strain first gained a foothold.

By mid-May, state health officials had confirmed 36 cases. Since many flu victims don't go to doctors, and some who go to doctors aren't tested for the virus, the actual number of cases in the state is much higher than the confirmed cases, Gibson said.

The number of confirmed cases had jumped to 83 by June 13, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Many of the early cases were clustered around Newberry County, but the virus now is spread throughout the state. In the last reporting week, four new cases showed up in Lexington County and three each in Richland and Kershaw. No county had more than four new cases.

"We have ongoing transmission, which is quite unusual for this far into the month of June," Gibson said.

Gibson acknowledged that the unusual number of warm-weather cases might be related to doctors testing more for flu than in previous years.

Dr. Michael Schmidt, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, puts it another way. "If you look for dust in your house, you'll find dust in your house," he said. "Nevertheless, it's still an issue and this is still highly contagious. That's why the (World Health Organization) declared it a pandemic."

South Carolina isn't alone in the recent increase of confirmed cases. New cases are popping up in many states. The total for U.S. cases was up to 17,855 through June 6, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nationally, 44 deaths have been attributed to the H1N1 virus.

The virus has been relatively mild in South Carolina, with no deaths and no more hospitalizations than are typical with seasonal flu, Gibson said.

Swine flu symptoms are similar to seasonal flu - high fever, body aches, lethargy, sore throat, runny nose. The best ways to prevent spread of any virus is to wash your hands thoroughly and often, cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow and stay home if you have symptoms.

The hundreds of people who already have suffered through swine flu in South Carolina have built up immunity should the virus return in winter, Gibson said.

Like health officials nationwide, South Carolina has begun considering the possibility of in-school immunization for swine flu this year, Gibson said. It's too early to work out the details, or even to know if flu shots will be necessary. But schools could be incubation centers for the virus, whose victims have skewed younger than seasonal flu's victims.

That means schools also would be a logical place to try to slow the transmission with flu shots.

Gibson stressed that the public should be aware, not alarmed, about the virus.

"The state has 4.5 million people, and the number of confirmed cases has been in the 20s the past couple of weeks," he said.