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Poll: Few know H1N1, 'swine flu' are sameNov 11, 2009 (The Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- An Arizona State University survey about the H1N1 virus released Monday reveals a majority of those polled statewide are aware of the H1N1 virus or "swine flu," but fewer realize the two are the same, and one-fifth are unaware that an H1N1 vaccine is available. The survey, conducted throughout October of 725 adult Arizonans who make health care decisions for their families, shows most people know it's best to stay away from crowds and are stocking up on hand sanitizers, but there are some communication gaps out there. Like residents considering seasonal flu to be more contagious than H1N1. Not true, said Dr. Peter Kelly, a physician with the Arizona Department of Health Services. Kelly said H1N1 is "highly communicable person to person." Worse, he said, the population hasn't had a chance to develop immunity to this strain of virus, so it's even more easily transmitted. At the same time, Kelly said although it's more communicable, H1N1 is no more severe than seasonal flu. "The degree of illness most people get is about the same," Kelly said. According to the state health department's latest figures, there were 1,088 laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 virus in Arizona between Oct. 25 and Oct. 31 and more than 6,000 confirmed cases since April, when the virus was first identified. Kelly said even the confirmed cases are underestimated, with many people with mild cases going unreported. "We are truly in the midst of a pandemic situation," Kelly said. Joshua Moreno doesn't typically get the seasonal flu shot. The 18-year-old Gilbert resident knew about the H1N1 virus but didn't think twice about getting a shot for that either. But then four weeks ago, what started as a bout of sneezing and coughing became progressively worse, to the point where he was disoriented and dizzy. A visit to urgent care, followed by doses of Tamiflu, Mucinex, Flonase and codeine got him back on his feet in a week. That's also about when the lab results came back positive: He had H1N1. "I was shocked," Moreno said. "I didn't think it would hit me." Moreno's lucky. There have been 17 H1N1-related deaths in the state in the latest reporting week, for a total of 81 deaths since April. "When you think of H1N1, you think about people becoming deathly ill," Moreno said. "I was surprised because in my case it felt like something I'd never had before, but it wasn't that bad." The point of the survey was to highlight any communication or perception gaps among residents and to pass them on to local health management officials to clarify these aspects so residents are better informed, said Megan Jehn, assistant professor in the School of Health Management and Policy at ASU. "The survey results are one more piece to a larger puzzle to try to get a sense of where the community stands on this issue and how to get the right information through the public health community to them," Jehn said. Kelly said with the results highlighting some confusion over the naming of the virus and differentiating between seasonal flu and H1N1 virus, it shows the need to work on ensuring that the public understands the difference. Kelly said one of the major messages resulting from the survey would be to reinforce the idea of people getting the vaccine when it becomes available, once the production logjam ends. "Most people know that there is a vaccine, but the current snags in the distribution process have made them feel the vaccine isn't immediately available to them," Kelly said. "As the distribution problem solves itself, we want to be sure that people know that there's a vaccine available for them." According to the survey, 76 percent of Arizonans believe the H1N1 situation is urgent, but only 34 percent believe a family member will get sickened by it. More than half said they're likely to get vaccinated, especially those who happen to know someone who's had H1N1. For complete survey results, visit http://wpcarey.asu.edu/shmp/upload/Survey-Results-Summary.pdf. To see more of The Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.eastvalleytribune.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |