CDC: 100,000 have flu and Swine Flu

CDC believes Flu and Swine Flu in the USA is now widespread infecting over 100,000 people

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

May 15, 2009 -- More than 100,000 Americans probably have the flu -- and at least half of these cases are H1N1 swine flu, a CDC expert estimates.

The comment came from Daniel Jernigan, MD, PhD, deputy director of the CDC's influenza division, during a news conference.

Jernigan noted that the 4,700 confirmed or probable cases of swine flu reported to CDC represent a gross underestimate. When asked how many actual cases there were, Jernigan noted that 7% to 10% of the U.S. population -- up to 30 million people -- get the seasonal flu each year.

"So with the amount of activity we are seeing now, it is a little hard to know what that means in terms of making an estimate now of the total number of people with flu out in the community," Jernigan said. "But if I had to make an estimate, I would say ... probably upwards of maybe 100,000."

The CDC's most recent data, for the week ending May 9, shows that about half of Americans with confirmed flu had the H1N1 swine flu. If Jernigan's off-the-cuff estimate is correct, more than 50,000 people in the U.S. have the new flu.

At a time when flu season should be ending or over, the CDC's flu season indicators are going up instead of down. As of May 9, 22 states had widespread or regional flu.

Meanwhile, Arizona's Maricopa County -- home to Phoenix -- reported that a woman in her late 40s died from complications of the H1N1 swine flu. She is the nation's fourth H1N1 swine flu fatality. The woman had an underlying lung disease, according to the Maricopa County public health department.

Despite the death, the CDC's marker for flu severity -- deaths from pneumonia or flu -- did not increase beyond normal levels for this time of year. This so-called "epidemic threshold" is 7.4% of all deaths; for the week ending May 9, flu/pneumonia deaths were 7.2% of all deaths.

One of the most alarming signs of a flu pandemic is a lot of severe illness in people who don't usually suffer severe flu cases -- older children and young adults.

Most of the 173 people hospitalized in the U.S. with H1N1 swine flu have been between 5-24 years old.

"At this point, we're not seeing the seriousness of illness in the United States that was initially reported in Mexico, but this certainly does not mean that the outbreak is over," Jernigan said. "The H1N1 virus is not going away. We know that the outbreak is not localized but is spreading and appears to be expanding throughout the United States.

Florida Swine Flu Information Hotline now open

The State of Florida has opened a toll-free telephone service where residents and visitors can call to receive health information about swine flu.

The number for Florida residents to call is 1-800-342-3557.

The line will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily until further notice. After hours calls will be handled by an automated service.

As Florida responds to swine flu, the Florida Department of Health offers the following recommendations:
- People with respiratory illness or fever should stay home from work or school to avoid spreading infections, including influenza, to others in the community.
- Avoid close contact with people who are coughing or otherwise appear ill.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. 
- Wash hands frequently to lessen the spread of respiratory illness.
- Symptoms of swine flu are rapid onset fever, cough fatigue and in some cases vomiting and diarrhea. 
- If you think you have the flu, please call your health care provider and discuss whether you need to be seen in their office or an emergency department, or stay home.



Swine flu is not transmitted by food and you cannot get swine flu from eating pork products. 

The State of Florida is receiving frequent updates from the CDC, and working with local health departments to monitor the situation and immediately follow up on suspected cases. 

The Florida Department of Health has created a webpage with information at www.doh.state.fl.us, and the CDC has a web page at www.cdc.gov/swineflu.

Virginia Swine Flu Hotline

The State of Virginia Department of Health has opened a call center for its residents with questions about the Swine H1N1 Flu. The number to call Monday through Thursday from 8:30am to 4:30pm is 1-877-ASK-VDH3 (1-877-275-8343).

How will the Swine Flu affect the UK

From the BBC, a video report on how the Swine H1N1 Flu could affect the UK.

Swine Flu Congressman Ron Paul Commentary

Congressman Ron Pul gives his perspective on the Swine Flu H1N1 issue.

How to safely use N95 Flu Respirators Video

This video is provided from CDC with information on how to safely operate and remove an N95 disposable Respirator or flu mask, commonly used to prevention transmission of the Swine H1N1 Flu Virus.

Purchase N95 respirators and others for flu safety for individual or corporate use.

Symptoms of Swine Flu H1N1 Flu from CDC

Joseph Bresee, M.D., Chief at the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch of the CDC Influenza Division speaks about symptoms of the Swine H1N1 Flu.

Swine Flu H1N1 video update 4/29 at 11am

H1N1 Flu Updates from HHS

Swine Flu Q and A from Harvard Medical School

By Harvard Medical School

An epidemic of swine flu has recently developed in Mexico and the United States, says the CDC. Swine flu has killed many people, and the outbreak has features that suggest it could become a global pandemic. A pandemic is an epidemic that spreads around the whole world. Pandemics also often cause more severe disease than epidemics.

As of Sunday, April 26, the United States has declared a public health emergency, and suspect or confirmed cases are being reported from many parts of the world. If a pandemic happens, it could be very serious for human health and the global economy (which definitely does not need any more bad news right now). Editor's note: There has been a reported death in the USA as of 4/29/09.

Q: What are "swine flu" and "bird flu"? 

A: Flu is a disease caused by the influenza virus. Humans, pigs, birds, and other animals all can be infected by influenza viruses. Typically, influenza viruses can infect only one species, so the influenza viruses of humans are different from those of pigs and birds. However, sometimes a virus can infect more than one species. For example, pigs sometimes can be infected not only with pig influenza viruses, but also with human and bird influenza viruses. Then these viruses can sidle up to one another and swap genes, creating new viruses that have a mix of genes from human, pig, and bird viruses. That is what has happened with this new swine flu virus. 

Sometimes this swapping of genes allows a virus that was originally able to infect only pigs or only birds to also infect humans. When that happens, we refer to the illness as "swine flu" or "bird flu." This current virus could actually be called "swine/bird flu," since it has some genes from pig flu viruses and other genes from bird flu viruses. However, for simplicity sake, it is just being referred to as "swine flu." 

Q: Are swine flu or bird flu viruses dangerous? 

A: Most viruses that cause swine flu or bird flu are very hard to pass from one human to another: they don't cause epidemics. Sometimes, however, further changes in genes create a virus that can spread rapidly among humans, and can produce a more severe illness. One reason this illness is more severe is that the virus is so new. The regular flu that comes each year is caused by a regular human influenza virus that often has similarities to the viruses that have caused the flu in years past, so people have some degree of immunity to the latest virus. The unusual swine flu or bird flu viruses that develop the ability for person-to-person spread are so different that people have little or no immunity to them. That is what some experts worry may be happening with swine flu. 

Q: How bad can a global pandemic be? 

A: The worst global pandemic in modern times was the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919. It affected about a third of the human race, and killed at least 40 million people in less than a year more than have been killed by AIDS in three decades. The world economy went into a deep recession. The average length of life dropped for 10 years. In other words, global pandemics can be a really big deal. On the other hand, other pandemics have been considerably less serious than the 1918 to1919 influenza pandemic. 

Q: Can this new swine flu virus be easily transmitted from person to person? 

A: Unfortunately, the new swine flu virus can be transmitted between humans. It is not clear yet how easily it is transmitted, nor how it is transmitted. Almost surely it is transmitted by sneezing and coughing, and by skin-to-skin contact (like shaking hands or kissing) with an infected person. 

Q: How sick do people get from this virus? 

A: Most people infected with the virus have recovered from the illness. In fact, all of the people in the U.S. have recovered. 

However, in Mexico, some people have kept getting sicker, and eventually died. The regular flu viruses that come each winter can occasionally cause severe illness and death. Most often, this happens in very young children or frail elderly people. What worries some experts is that many of the deaths in Mexico have been in young, healthy adults. In past pandemics, like the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919, it was also young, healthy people who were most likely to die. Experts are puzzled as to why the infection currently appears to be worse in Mexico than in the U.S. 

Q: Are there treatments? 

A: As of now, the new virus is killed by two antiviral medicines熔seltamivir and zanamivir. Based on experience with other flu viruses, treatment would be most effective if given within 2 days of the onset of symptoms. As long as this current swine flu virus is infecting people, it is likely that health authorities will recommend that people with more severe illness take these medicines. 

On the other hand, there is no proven benefit from using the medicines before symptoms develop, and there is proven harm: unnecessary widespread use of these drugs could produce drug-resistant viruses. 

There is no vaccine yet for the new virus, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expressed doubt that this year's regular flu vaccine will offer protection. 

Q: How do I know if I've caught swine flu? 

A: The initial symptoms of this flu virus are like those of the regular, annual flu viruses: fever, muscle aches, runny nose, and sore throat. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may be more common with this swine flu than with the regular flu. If this epidemic hits your community and you develop flu-like symptoms, it is likely your doctor will take samples from your throat or material you cough up and send them to the state public health laboratory for testing. 

Q: How do I protect myself? 

A: To protect yourself from catching swine flu, take the same steps you would to prevent getting any cold or flu:

• Wash your hands or use alcohol-based hand cleaners frequently.


• When you greet people, don't shake hands or exchange kisses.


• Avoid contact with people with flu symptoms.

And to protect others, if you develop sneezing and coughing, be sure to use tissues to wipe your nose and cover your mouth, and to throw the tissues in the trash or toilet bowl. 

Q: How long are people contagious? 

A: Adults should be considered contagious until at least 7 days after the start of symptoms; with children, it may be 10 to 14 days. 

Q: Can you get swine flu from eating pork? 

A: Absolutely not. But, as you probably know, you need to cook pork thoroughly to avoid getting other illnesses that can be spread by undercooked meat. 

Q: Will there be unusual restrictions on our lives if there is a global pandemic? 

A: If there is a global pandemic, for some period of time, governments may well restrict travel (indeed, some governments already have). Governments also may close schools and public places, require as many people as possible to work from home, tell any people who develop symptoms to isolate themselves at home, and tell people to seek medical attention immediately if more serious symptoms develop. What are those symptoms? 

For adults, teens, and kids age 3 to 12, the most worrisome symptoms are:

• Shortness of breath


• Persistent vomiting


• Confusion


• Dizziness

For children younger than 2, the most worrisome symptoms are:

• Very rapid breathing


• Not interacting normally, not eating or drinking normally, being unusually irritable, or appearing unusually sleepy


• High fever and rash


• A bluish color of the lips and skin

To purchase the full Special Health Report on swine flu from Harvard Health Publications, click here.

Copyright ｩ 2009 by Harvard University. All rights reserved

Flu update from World Health Organization

28 April 2009--The situation continues to evolve rapidly. As of 19:15 GMT, 28 April 2009, seven countries have officially reported cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection. The United States Government has reported 64 laboratory confirmed human cases, with no deaths. Mexico has reported 26 confirmed human cases of infection including seven deaths.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Canada (6), New Zealand (3), the United Kingdom (2), Israel (2) and Spain (2).

Further information on the situation will be available on the WHO website on a regular basis.

WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders. It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities.

There is also no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness.

Swine Flu Google Map-pinpoints outbreaks

Google is providing a world map pinpointing exact locations of Swine Flu outbreaks.

Swine Flu Emergency in California

California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in California this afternoon. This will help California agencies respond more effectively to the swine flu outbreak.

The Governor said, "there is no cause for alarm."

California officials have confirmed 13 cases of the swine flu as of 4/28/09.

The complete story from the Associated Press: http://tinyurl.com/cq3x8a

Flu Safety Tips-How To Beat The Flu

Here are a few safety tips and reminders to keep you and your family safe during this time of health crisis around the world.

• Wash your hands frequently with a disinfecting soap under warm water for at least 20 seconds.
• If soap is unavailable use hand sanitizer.
• Sneeze into your arm or elbow away from others.
• Avoid touching your nose, eyes and mouth.
• Stay away from school or work if you have flu symptoms.
• Keep at least 3 feet away from infected people.
• Symptoms of this flu may include fever, runny nose, body aches, sore throat, cough, nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea.

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Red Cross