353 H1N1 associated deaths reported in the US

By David Liu (davidl@foodconsumer.org)

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 31 updated the H1N1 situation on its website saying that as of July 30, 5,514 hospitalized cases and 353 deaths from 47 states and territories have been reported to the agency.

On July 24, the CDC said it had received reports of 43,771 hospitalizations and 302 deaths associated with H1N1 virus.

The peak season of H1N1 seems to have been over. If the trend remains unchanged, no more than 1,000 deaths may be expected for 2009. The death rate of this magnitude is small compared to seasonal flu, which health officials claim is associated with 30,000 deaths each year.

Overall, the death risk from H1N1 is tiny. In comparison, more than 45,000 women a year in the U.S. get killed by breast cancer and or related treatment. About 30,000 American infants younger than 6 months or 0.6 percent of infants in that age group die each year from all causes. According to The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 43,200 people died from motor vehicle traffic crash in 2005.

The U.S. is preparing for the worst. A CDC spokesman was quoted by Reuters as saying that the federal government is sending $260 million to the states as promised early on July 10 to help the country prepare for the possible return of H1N1 in the fall.