Swine Flu Update – May 18 – Possibility for Summer Flu Season
Sixth U.S. Death is New York Teacher
From Centers for Disease Control Briefing this afternoon:
Dr. Anne Schuchat: … My first statement to you is the H1N1 is not going away, despite what you may have heard. As you know, the World Health Assembly is convening from Geneva, and the Department of Health and Human Services is at the Assembly. We are expecting the H1N1 issue to dominate the meeting, and I wanted to alert you to Director General Margaret Chan’s statement from the W.H.O. She said that influenza viruses are the ultimate moving target, and I think that really captures that scenario we’re coping with right now. This novel H1N1 virus is still circulating in the United States. People are continuing to get sick, to get hospitalized, and unfortunately, to die. At this point, there are six deaths that have been reported officially. And, you know, we feel for the families that are experiencing those losses. …
Dr. Schuchat was asked if H1N1 has a higher death rate than seasonal influenza:
Dr. Schuchat: … You know, the death rate – are we seeing more fatalities than we would expect with seasonal influenza, or a higher proportion of illness than with seasonal influenza? I think our best estimate right now is that the fatality is likely a little bit higher than seasonal influenza, but not necessarily substantially higher. On the other hand, the hospitalizations that we’re tracking have this disproportionate occurrence among younger persons. That’s very unusual to have, you know, so many people under 20 requiring hospitalization and in some of those intensive care units. We’re trying to actively investigate those and get better characteristics of what the illness looks like. …
- Swine Flu Kills New Yorker, Virus Not Going Away – Bloomberg
- U.S. Health Officials Troubled by New Flu Pattern – Reuters
- Japan Acts to Contain Swine Flu Outbreak – New York Times
