A million Americans in the clutches of the swine flu
POSTED June 26, 2009 - 17:12 | POSTED BY Jyoti Pal
Last edited by Priya Markanda on June 26, 2009 - 17:30
The number has been derived by the health officials with the use of mathematical modeling and data collected in various surveys.
127 deaths
Lyn Finelli, a flu surveillance official with the CDC also revealed that New York accounted for half of these one million cases. In a presentation to the vaccine panel of the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in Atlanta, she said that more than 6 percent of urban areas were affected in the country.
An analysis of the swine flu victims corroborates the fact that people with underlying health conditions are more susceptible to the flu.
The CDC dug deeper into and said 99 of the 127 deaths were caused due to the Influenza A (H1N1) in the U.S. Out of these 99 people, 87 of those who had succumbed to the swine flu also had an underlying medical condition.
11 percent of these victims suffered from asthma, 24 percent had other lung diseases, 13 percent were diabetics and another 45 percent were obese.
Dr. Daniel Jernigan, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC's Influenza Division said, “The U.S. will likely see swine flu activity continue throughout the summer.”
Swine flu in India
Meanwhile, India still remains in safe waters so far as the spread of this lethal flu is concerned.
The number of people who have entered the swine flu register in the country is a mere 78. That of course is not a huge number, given the population of the country.
Only six cases in the country are in the human-to-human transfer category. All the other victims were affected by the flu on their foreign visits. Out of the 78 swine flu victims, 50 have already been treated and discharged.
