New, old flu spreading rapidly in U.S.
About half of late-season cases involve swine virus; Texas reports third death.
By Rob Stein , Kimberly Kindy
THE WASHINGTON POST
Saturday, May 16, 2009
WASHINGTON ? The new swine flu virus is spreading rapidly around the United States, and more than half of the states are reporting unusually high levels of flu-like illness at a time of year when the respiratory disease usually disappears, federal health officials said Friday.
About half of the people with flu are testing positive for the new virus, indicating it is playing a significant role in the unusual pattern of disease, officials said.
"We would be expecting to see the season to be slowing down or almost completely stopped," said Dr. Daniel Jernigan of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. "But what we're seeing is there are some areas that actually have reports of the amounts of respiratory disease ... that are equivalent to peak influenza season."
The unusual activity comes as two more U.S. deaths were reported from swine flu, bringing the total in the United States to at least five.
A 33-year-old man succumbed in Corpus Christi on May 6, bringing Texas' total to three, while a woman in her late 40s died in Maricopa County in Arizona last week, marking that state's first death. Washington state had previously reported a death.
About half of late-season cases involve swine virus; Texas reports third death.
By Rob Stein , Kimberly Kindy
THE WASHINGTON POST
Saturday, May 16, 2009
WASHINGTON ? The new swine flu virus is spreading rapidly around the United States, and more than half of the states are reporting unusually high levels of flu-like illness at a time of year when the respiratory disease usually disappears, federal health officials said Friday.
About half of the people with flu are testing positive for the new virus, indicating it is playing a significant role in the unusual pattern of disease, officials said.
"We would be expecting to see the season to be slowing down or almost completely stopped," said Dr. Daniel Jernigan of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. "But what we're seeing is there are some areas that actually have reports of the amounts of respiratory disease ... that are equivalent to peak influenza season."
The unusual activity comes as two more U.S. deaths were reported from swine flu, bringing the total in the United States to at least five.
A 33-year-old man succumbed in Corpus Christi on May 6, bringing Texas' total to three, while a woman in her late 40s died in Maricopa County in Arizona last week, marking that state's first death. Washington state had previously reported a death.