GENEVA, Switzerland, May 5, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Thirty-eight states
reported 403 lab-confirmed cases of H1N1 flu, the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control reported Tuesday.
Topping the list was New York with 90 cases, followed by Illinois with 82, and
California reporting 49 cases, the CDC said on its Web site. The total includes
the death of a child visiting Texas from Mexico.
The World Health Organization reported the number of people confirmed with H1N1
flu, comonly known as swine flu, reached 1,419, including 30 deaths, Sky News
reported.
Noting the number of new H1N1 virus cases still climbing, scientists said the
current strain doesn't seem to be any more deadly than seasonal flu.
Dr. Richard Besser, CDC acting director, said scientists were "seeing a lot of
encouraging signs," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday. "So far
the severity of illness we are seeing in this country is very similar to what we
see with seasonal flu."
Besser said lab tests indicate the strain lacks markers associated with more
severe strains of pandemics in the past.
On Monday, officials in Mexico, believed to be the outbreak's epicenter,
declared the threat to be declining. Officials scaled back the flu alert, saying
they would allow cafes, museums, schools and libraries to reopen this week after
a shutdown last week.
U.S. health officials, however, said they didn't know whether the
never-before-seen virus would return when the regular flu season begins again
late this year, the Journal-Constitution said. Because the pathogen is a genetic
mix of pig, bird and human flu strains, health officials expressed concern that
humans may have no natural immunity to it.
Since the outbreak last week, more than 430 schools closed, affecting about
245,000 children, the U.S. Education Department said.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International