Posted on 05/16/2009 4:04:21 PM PDT by grandpa jones
FRIDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- While the official tally of confirmed U.S. swine flu cases topped 4,700 on Friday, experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimate the true number of infections at more than 100,000 nationwide.
[snip]
In fact, "estimates of the confirmed and probable cases in the United States is probably not the best indicator of transmission at this point," the CDC's Jernigan said. "The outbreak is not localized, but is spreading and appears to be expanding throughout the United States. This is an ongoing public health threat," he said.
It's a little hard to make an estimate of the number of people who have the H1N1 flu, Jernigan said, "but if we had to make an estimate, I would say that the amount of activity we are seeing with our influenza-like illness network is probably upwards of 100,000."
He said that there seems to be more cases of flu generally in the U.S. -- both the seasonal and the new H1N1 swine flu -- than is usually seen at this time of the year. "There are 22 U.S. states that are reporting widespread or regional influenza activity, which is something that we would not expect at this time," Jernigan said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Age of Flu Victims Has Big Implications
Scientists Say Relative Youth of Ill People Is Evidence of Pandemic Potential
By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 17, 2009
The swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus that burst into public consciousness a month ago is starting to behave like a mixture of its infamous, pandemic-causing predecessors.
It seems to have a predilection for young adults, as did its notorious ancestor, the 1918 Spanish influenza.
[snip]
Exactly how swine flu fits into the pantheon of flu pandemics will not be known for a while. It will take months — and many more victims — for its full personality and behavior to emerge. But one thing is clear: This is a lot more than just seasonal flu out of season.
[snip]
Perhaps the most worrisome features so far are the number and severity of cases in teenagers and young adults. This was noticed early, and the pattern has not changed much now that there are 5,000 laboratory-confirmed infections and probably more than 100,000 overall. The average age of the confirmed and probable cases is 15 years. Two-thirds are younger than 18.
[snip]
A variety of H1N1 strains circulated from 1918 to 1957, then disappeared for two decades. In 1977, however, an H1N1 strain surfaced that was nearly identical to the previous one, so much so that scientists suspect it was an accidental release from a lab freezer. It caused a pandemic — Russian flu — that was largely limited to people younger than 25, whose immune systems had never experienced H1N1.
More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/16/AR2009051601850.html
LOLLL!
That episode of South Park was incredibly funny.
"It was the worst flu I've ever had in my life," he said yesterday. "I couldn't move. I felt like I was going to die, I could hardly breathe."According to medical experts, infection with H1N1 virus can range from no symptoms at all to feeling like you've been hit by a truck.
Gale was clearly in the latter category.
"I have never felt like that,'' he said. ``It almost felt like your body was shutting down."
What’s your point?
According to the article, one-third of the cases of Mexican swine flu are older than eighteen.
Here is a fifty-five year man old on a respirator:
NYC asst. principal with swine flu very ill
“...on Friday, Wiener’s son Adam said his father had only suffered previously from gout, which he said was unrelated to his current condition. He said his 55-year-old father is now suffering from pneumonia, kidney failure, dehydration and a lung infection.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2251629/posts
the point is that many of these cases seem to labeled as “mild.”
ping... (thanks for the ping, LucyT!)
Weegie Board and an astrological chart.
I was thinking they got it from a place that would mean it's brown and stinky.
“The CDC is using this as a money pit. Blown it all out of proportion.”
The CDC is doing its job, which is to communicate to the public what the status of this flu is. People can make their own decisions about travel and attendance at public events if they have accurate information about the flu. The fact that this man is saying that there are probably 100,000 cases in the US is a very good thing. That means that most people are not becoming seriously ill or dying from this flu. It is still beneficial for people to know how many people have become seriously ill, and what the symptoms are.
I am happy that you do not know anyone who had the flu. It isn’t meaningful, but good news just the same. Do you know anyone who was diagnosed with schizophrenia this year? There are around 100,000 new cases of schizophrenia each year in the US too. Just because you might not know one, doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
The media in many cases has blown this out of proportion. That isn’t the CDCs fault.
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