From the Wall Street Journal


http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100212-713863.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines


 (Updates with information from the CDC's weekly flu report starting in
eighth paragraph)

 
   By Jennifer Corbett Dooren 
   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--More than 57 million Americans have become ill from
the H1N1 influenza virus and nearly 11,700 have died, according to
estimates released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.

While the new figures show the H1N1 pandemic virus is still spreading, they
also reflect a continued slowdown in the transmission of the illnesses
since last fall. The CDC had last estimated about 55 million Americans had
been sickened, 246,000 were hospitalized and about 11,100 had died through
mid-December.

The new figures estimate the number of illnesses from April 2009--when the
new H1N1 influenza virus was first discovered--through Jan. 14.

While health officials have yet to declare the end of the influenza
pandemic, a new round of widespread illness is increasingly unlikely now
that a substantial portion of the U.S. population has been either sickened
by or vaccinated against the H1N1 pandemic virus. About 70 million people
have been vaccinated.

About 257,000 people were hospitalized with H1N1 influenza through
mid-January, which is higher than the approximately 200,000
hospitalizations seen in a normal influenza season when seasonal influenza
viruses are circulating.

Of the hospitalizations, 82,000 were in people younger than 18 while
150,000 were in people age 18 to 64. About 25,000 people age 65 and older
were hospitalized with H1N1, which shows the H1N1 virus is continuing to
affect younger people. With seasonal influenza, the majority of
hospitalizations and deaths are in people age 65 and older.

The CDC attributed 11,690 deaths to H1N1, with 1,230 of them being in young
people age 17 and younger and 8,980 in people age 18 to 64. In the elderly,
1,480 deaths were attributed to H1N1. In a normal influenza season. about
36,000 deaths are attributed to influenza and pneumonia with 90% of them
being in people age 65 and older.

In a separate weekly report of H1N1 influenza activity, the CDC said most
influenza strains circulating as of Feb. 6 are the H1N1 strain and not
strains that cause seasonal influenza.

As of Feb. 6, the majority of states reported "sporadic" transmission of
the H1N1 virus, the CDC said. However, the CDC said doctor visits for
influenza-like illnesses increased slightly over the previous week but
"remain low overall."

-By Jennifer Corbett Dooren, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9294;
jennifer.corbett{at}dowjones.com
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5