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.

Just thinking out loud here...

Ya know what else is kinda scary?

If they're pretty much cought up from the backlog of samples sent in...

And...they're not testing the general population now...

Then these increasing numbers must be from more serious/hospitalization cases??? Hmmm...

Does that make any sense to Y'all?

Mild U.S. Swine Flu Cases May Exceed Official Tally
www.nytimes.com...

The real number of swine flu cases in the United States could be “upwards of 100,000,” a top public health official estimated on Friday — far higher than the official count of 7,415 cases confirmed by laboratories.

The official, Dr. Daniel Jernigan, head of flu epidemiology for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news conference that the official number gave an inaccurate picture of the outbreak because so few mildly sick people were being tested.

He added that flu was more prevalent than usual, “something we would not normally expect at this time of year.” But he emphasized that most cases were mild. There have been only 173 hospitalizations and 5 deaths reported to the disease centers.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
reply to post by Albertarocks

---

You seriously need to read your history and learn.

This is how the 1918 flu started. The exact same way.

People like you were yelling when it first started ... oh it's just a few people, don't panic.

And then 100 million people died the following fall.

A New, New H1N1 in Mexico?
May 15, 2009
blogs.sciencemag.org...

This odd exchange took place at today’s press conference with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

David Brown, The Washington Post: There’s a report that there is yet another new H1N1 virus that has been found in the states of Durango, Zacatecas, and Jalisco that is distinct from both this swine H1N1 and the seasonal Brisbane H1N1. Have you heard of this and can you tell us anything about this?

Daniel Jernigan, CDC’s deputy director of influenza division: We’ve heard of some reports about that, but I’ve not had any direct information about the specifics of that case. There’s ongoing dialog between us and the folks that are in Mexico, and as we know more about that, we’ll be able to let people know.

ScienceInsider is investigating but has yet to learn anything substantive. It was aired in a public venue, though, and likely will receive media attention, regardless of whether it turns out to be false.

—Jon Cohen

Update (6:44EDT, 15 May): “We heard a rumor but think it may be a misinterpretation of some lab data by a non-lab person,” Nancy Cox, head of CDC’s influenza division, tells ScienceInsider. “We are following up.”