State Updates on H1N1 Virus

New York and Arizona both have had changes to the handling of the H1N1 virus.

The New York State Health Department is requiring health care workers across the state to be vaccinated for the seasonal flu and the H1N1 virus. The regulation affects workers and volunteers who come into contacts with patients at hospitals, in home health care agencies, and in hospice care, but through a technicality in state law, not in nursing homes.

Banner Hospitals across the state of Arizona have discontinued using the one-hour H1N1 virus test. The decision to halt use of the test, which was primarily used in emergency rooms, came because of the high number of false negatives the test produced. According to Banner microbiologist, roughly 50% of patients with negative results actually had the virus. Banner hospitals will now rely on the standard H1N1 test that takes 24 to 72 hours to complete.