“Regular” Flu Kills 36,000 Americans A Year

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first American death related to swine flu today; the victim, a 23 month-old child in Texas. Currently, there is no vaccine available to prevent swine flu and that kind of preventative vaccine could still be months away.

However, as the United States and the World prepares for a possible “pandemic,“ it is important to understand just how many people the “regular” flu affects. According to the CDC, about 36,000 Americans die every year from flu-related problems. In the Volunteer State, doctors say 700 Tennesseans die from the flu annually. The CDC says another 200,000 Americans are hospitalized from serious flu complications every year.

Currently, the CDC says the total number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the U.S. sits at 91. Across the world, the swine flu’s victims are much younger than those who generally contract influenza.

“Until we see large numbers, particularly in our country, it’s hard to tell if that’s going to be the same in the U.S. as elsewhere,“ Mountain States Health Alliance Epidemiologist James Myers, MD said. “I think that is what’s got the CDC worried about this.“

Myers says the Johnson City Medical Center has screened a couple of people for swine flu with no signs of the disease. With no confirmed cases in Tennessee right now, Myers is not too worried about the swine flu just yet.

“I think it’s still kind of a mystery,“ Myers said. “It’s still the flu in some ways though. I don’t get there’s any reason to panic at this point.“

He admits that could change in the coming weeks.

“I think if we start seeing more cases in the (United States), particularly in the State of Tennessee itself, if we unfortunately see more deaths, I think we need to be more concerned if the number of deaths start to rise,“ Myers said.

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