Dr. Thomas Frieden, director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks during the National Institute of Health's H1N1 Flu Preparedness Summit in Bethesda, Maryland, on July 9, 2009. Health leaders are predicting and preparing for a particularly bad flu season. (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg) |
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ATLANTA, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- About 50 million people in the United States have had swine flu, with about 10,000 of the cases ending in death, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said.
CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden, in a briefing Thursday, related the latest statistics. He said the fatality rate of the H1N1 virus epidemic was less than that of seasonal flu, which is blamed for about 35,000 deaths year, but that the deaths have included about 1,100 children and 7,500 younger adults indicates the swine flu affects a much different group of people than season flu, which has the elderly as many of its victims.
Also, American Indians seem particularly vulnerable to the H1N1 virus.
The CDC said stocks of swine flu vaccine total about 85 million doses. Frieden said people should be vaccinated against H1N1 because health officials are unsure how the epidemic will grow in the coming months.
Flu season is considered to last through May.
