CDC, states: US swine flu cases jump to 68

Yahoo! News / The Associated Press ^ | April 28, 2009 | Mike Stobbe

[2ndDivisionVet]

The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States has jumped to 64, federal officials said Tuesday, and states reported at least four more.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the new count includes "a number of hospitalizations." CDC officials had previously said just one person had been hospitalized.

The CDC said there were 17 new cases in New York City, four more in Texas and three additional cases in California. That brings the total numbers of cases confirmed by federal officials to 45 in New York City, 10 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio.

State health officials in California have confirmed three other cases, and Indiana authorities have confirmed one.

[2ndDivisionVet]

If they know of 68, there are 10,000+ out there.

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping

[tatown]

You got that right.

That is why the “6% mortality rate” that keeps getting restated is pure B.S. There are likely hundreds of thousands if not millions of cases in Mexico with very few deaths.

The true mortality rate is likely no higher than seasonal human influenza but the media/government would not want that truth told as it would take away their golden goose.

[PapaBear3625]

That is why the “6% mortality rate” that keeps getting restated is pure B.S. There are likely hundreds of thousands if not millions of cases in Mexico with very few deaths.

The "death rate" is computed as deaths divided by total cases. Except that the only cases they know about are the ones that were severe enough to require medical treatment.

[Gabz]

If so few cases are being reported, wouldn’t the same be true of how many deaths?

[krogers58]

That is why the “6% mortality rate” that keeps getting restated is pure B.S. There are likely hundreds of thousands if not millions of cases in Mexico with very few deaths.
The true mortality rate is likely no higher than seasonal human influenza but the media/government would not want that truth told as it would take away their golden goose.

I don't know what evidence you base your conclusions on, other than knee jerk hatred of the media. The CDC is reporting a lethality rate of between 2 and 6%, based on their scientific analysis. The Spanish Flu of 1918 had a lethality rate of 2.5%, so even if it is the low range of the CDC estimate, it is quite a nasty bug. The CDC is historically quite conservative on their lethality estimates, given that, I'd say reasonable precautions are in order. It appears to be growing exponentially in infection rates, as two days ago, there were 20 confirmed cases, and 40 yesterday, currently they are reporting something like 68 confirmed cases in the US. I don't mean to come off as someone who is saying the sky is falling, because it isn't, yet. If it does explode across the US, it will cause untold damage to the economy, aside from the actual medical effects. I'd be more worried at this point, in how many politicians, and officials with the government are repetitively asking everyone not to panic.

[tatown]

The CDC has NOT reported a lethality of 2% to 6%. That is a BS number that is ONLY based on the few cases that wer actually tested and confirmed in Mexico. How much testing has been done on the hundread of millions in Mexico? I’ll tell you, very little.

If you really believe that all of these people (from countries other than Mexico) are being infected while in Mexico by only 2000 infected Mexicans then you are an idiot. That would be a mathmatical IMPOSSIBILITY. Use your head!

The total number of confirmed cases (especially in Mexico) is a fraction of the number of people that have already been infected. Just look at the likely index case, his village had 450 people with the exact same symptoms as him yet he is the only person that was ‘confirmed’. BTW only 1 of the 450 died (mortality of 0.2%)...and that is in Mexico where he/she could have died from anything.

[toast]

If so few cases are being reported, wouldn’t the same be true of how many deaths?

I don't usually go to the doctor if I get the flu. Thus, this would be unreported case.

If I ended up dying I believe my wife would probably report it.

This is how you get a higher ratio of deaths to cases than is actually the case.

[tatown]

Which would be easier to account for?
A - Mild symtoms that could be any number of normal human infections.
B - Dead bodies.

The answer is clearly B. Most people with mild symptoms wouldn’t even seek medical assistance, thus there would be NO account for them having been infected in the first place.

[California74]

It’s not so much the mortality rate of this flu - it’s who is dying of this flu. It’s healthy young and middle aged people, not the typical people who die of the regular flu (i.e., elderly and very young)... just something to keep in mind.

[tatown]

Those that have died are from third world sh#thole and we have NO idea what the contributing factors were. That needs to be considered as well.

[California74]

Absolutely. I agree with you there, too.

[meyer]

It’s not so much the mortality rate of this flu - it’s who is dying of this flu.

How many people die from the variety of ordinary flu strains in the US each year? 33,000? Divided by 365, that's about 90 per day. The total death toll from this so-called crisis is zero.

[philly-d-kidder]

100’s of Millions??time?? 111 Million estimated by July 2009 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html

[BJClinton]

Again, the panic isn’t over the number of dead, it’s over who is dying and how. Otherwise healthy young adults are dying directly from this flu strain via a cytokine storm. The CDC stats count “influenza/pneumonia related deaths” not necessarily who has died directly from the flu.

Our bodies simply don’t know how to fight this as opposed to the “miss 2 days of work” flu we usually get.

[meyer]

Again, the panic isn’t over the number of dead, it’s over who is dying and how.

And my point is that in the United States, NOBODY is dying from the so-called swine flu. It appears to me that the left is trying to induce a panic over nothing. They have a reason, and that reason is not their concern about our health.