Posted on 06/28/2009 4:05:27 PM PDT by TaraP
US health officials estimate that at least one million Americans have been infected with swine flu since the H1N1 virus emerged nearly three months ago.
The number is far higher than cases actually reported to the authorities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said many cases were mild, although 127 people had died.
The CDC based its figures on surveys, rather than laboratory evidence, but the numbers suggest the death rate from swine flu is lower than thought.
"We're saying that there have been at least a million cases of the new H1N1 virus so far this year in the United States," said Anne Schuchat of the CDC.
"Reported cases are really just the tip of the iceberg."
The CDC has based its estimate on mathematical modelling, based on surveys by health officials.
If the figures are correct, it is reassuring news, because it indicates that the fatality rate from swine flu is even lower than thought, says BBC medical correspondent Fergus Walsh.
However, Dr Schuchat warned that swine flu might exhibit higher infection rates than seasonal flu and could return in a more virulent form in the autumn.
According to the CDC, there have been 27,717 confirmed or probable cases; some 3,000 people have needed hospital treatment and there have been 127 deaths.
Argentina's hospitals are coming under pressure Swine flu continues to affect mainly people under 50 years of age, with many of those worst affected having underlying health problems such as asthma or diabetes.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Boy It’s gonna be nice when Obama starts off Obama care by calling for the US Gov’t to ration Flu Shots this fall......Anyone over 70 need not apply....
I don’t believe this for a minute. A million? I wouldn’t be shocked to see mandatory vaccinations with something that, at best, won’t work and at worst....
He won't, he'll just send Geithner to Beijing to beg some more.
Is this “historical” too? Gotta love that “historical” gig we’ve got going in this country. We are some “historical” making fools!
Janet Nappyolita is not out telling people to wash their hands and etc, making this a crisis like it was 3 months or so ago.. but then when she was on tv every hr, it kept the American people from getting riled up over the Air Force 1 NYC fly over, so now this will become a crisis again just in time for obama care...
More than a million. But don’t worry, O’Barry’s socialist health care will ensure your speedy recovery. Or at least your respectful burial.
My son tested positive for the swine flu which he probably caught from me as I was sick first (I didn’t get tested). I had symptoms for three days then the fervor broke and was on the mend on the fourth. For me it was like the regular flu, fever, chills etc. We got our son on Tamaflu withing 24 hrs of showing symptoms and he had half the symptoms I had. He was on the mend in two and a half days with a fever that never went over 101. It wasn’t fun but any flu isn’t.
The fervor, eh? Does the degree of one's desire to have the flu affect its severity?
If so, this could be a hugh medical breakthrough.
So the odds are 7847 to 1 of dying of this mild flu.
LOL, I knew after I posted and saw that typo someone was going to eloquently point it out :)
That's me. Mr. Eloquence.
My motto is: Let no misspelling go unpointed out eloquently.
Nothing is real anymore. So they “estimate” that 1 million had it, but have not proof; only speculation; probabilities.
Real is always a misnomer. To be real a situtation must be extremely and carefully defined.
Probabilities on the other hand, when done correctly, particularly correcting for uncertainties, provide a bound of knowledge for a situation.
Unfortunately, way to many people don't understand the true value of probabilities. Climate modelers are a perfect example...
There's a lot of pigs feeding at the gummint trough... / s
Flawed mathematical modelling and endless manipulation underlie practically all US Govt endeavors, and, actual accounting is continually resisted at all levels. When the O administration has exceeded the budgets and indebtedness of all Presidencies combined from Washington to the present, it is reasonable to assume that the administration simply does not have adequate infrastructure to account and manage trillions and tens of trillions whether it wanted to do so or not. Modelling and unprecedented guesswork is extremely dangerous, if politically very convenient. Convenience is not an attribute of governing well.
I’m sure glad they are not blowing this out of proportion like the bird flu, or whatever the last “potential” epidemic was called.
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