CDC: Up to 6 million swine flu cases in few months (AP)
“Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that between 1.8 million and 5.7 million Americans were infected from mid-April through July 23. The figures are the CDC’s most specific calculation to date.”
I don’t know who is to blame: the CDC for their wacky figures, or Associated Press for trying to make this news.
To come up with the numbers, the scientists assumed that most people infected with swine had only mild illnesses and did not get medical care or get tested. For every confirmed case, they estimated that probably 80 others occurred. And for every confirmed hospitalization, there were probably three others.
Rates of testing and hospitalization have dropped since the pandemic began, so the same calculation couldn’t be done for cases since late July.
For that reason, CDC officials are saying simply that “many millions” of Americans have been infected to date, the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat said at a press conference Thursday in Atlanta.
Found this article via Yahoo News, so if they make updates, the original will be lost. Not worth the effort to link it. 