The CDC has greatly increased its estimate of the number of U.S. residents who have died from the H1N1 swine flu virus. The number of deaths have increased from 1,200 to 3,900. The CDC claims it is really an accounting issue and not a situation where the virus is getting more deadly. The H1N1 numbers are clearly showing the youngest are hardest hit. With H1N1 90% of the deaths have been in people 65 and under. That is very different from seasonal flu when 90% of the deaths are in people 65 and older. 38,000 children under 18 have been hospitalized and 540 have died. Take a look:
Worldwide Death Toll From H1N1 Swine Flu Passes 5,000
The Flucount.org website, which is trying to count flu cases and deaths, reports that the number of worldwide deaths from H1N1 swine flu has passed the 5,000 mark.
The worldwide total is likely higher than this because there are nations that are probably not reporting deaths with accuracy and some that are not reporting them at all.
The World Health Organization has a new update today that puts the total death toll from the H1N1 swine flu virus at 816. So far, most of the cases and deaths have occurred in the Americas.
The WHO has stopped asking countries to supply individual case counts but it appears they are still tracking deaths from the H1N1 swine flu virus.
The latest swine flu update (#58) from the World Health Organization (WHO) has the case total approaching 100,000 confirmed cases. Officially there have been 94,512 confirmed cases and 429 deaths. Here's a list of the countries reporting the most swine flu deaths.
United States - 170
Mexico - 119
Argentina - 60
Canada - 25
Chile - 14
Australia -10
Some reports recently have indicated potentially high death tolls from h1n1 swine flu. The CDC has mentioned the possibility of 90,000 to 450,000. The British government mentioned the possibility of 40 deaths per day by late August. The death toll will depend on what percentage of the population becomes ill. If a large percentage (like 30-40%) of the population falls ill then it is reasonable to expect large death tolls even if the death rate is quite low. The lack of immunity or a vaccine makes it likely that many people will get sick from the h1n1 swine flu virus.
There was also a high-profile celebrity swine flu case - Rupert Grint from the Harry Potter films was infected and recovered. Hopefully, his illness will help raise awareness about the swine flu pandemic.
