Health

Swine Flu Mortality Rate Climbs to 5 000

by Barbara McPherson | October 23, 2009 at 09:45 am

1130 views | 22 Recommendations | 6 comments

WHO has reported that the swine flu mortality rate has now climbed to 5 000 deaths. The 5 000 deaths are those that have been reported to WHO and as many countries have stopped reporting deaths from Swine flu, 5 000 is probably a conservative number.

WHO said there were 4,999 total deaths through Oct. 18, most of them in the Western Hemisphere. The figure was up 264 from a week earlier.

Iceland had its first swine flu death this week, and WHO said Sudan and Trinidad and Tobago also reported deaths from the virus for the first time this week.

This new form of influenza has the official name of H1N1 influenza but continues to be called Swine flu because of its close association with a small town in Mexico where large number of swine were raised. It was in this region and Mexico City that this new variation of influenza emerged.

People younger than about 60 years of age are especially vulnerable to this virus because it has been a long time since a similar type of influenza has circulated around the globe.

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Amy Judd

at 09:48 on October 23rd, 2009

There was a death from swine flu not far from us in Vancouver last week - a young girl of 26 with a new baby.

Oxblood Oxheart (not verified)

at 13:26 on October 23rd, 2009

"5,000 deaths" is not a mortality RATE, my dear. It's just a death toll, and it's useless information. The mortality RATE (useful information!) is a percentage: total number of deaths over total number of people who've caught the flu. 5,000 deaths is scary if 5,000 people have caught the flu; not so scary if 5,000,000 have caught it. It makes me angry the way the media hypes these absolute numbers as if they mean anything.

Amy Judd

at 13:48 on October 23rd, 2009

You don't have to be so condescending....

René

at 12:18 on October 24th, 2009

worldwide? what are the annual statistics for regular flu?

Mritunjay

at 12:36 on October 24th, 2009

Deaths information for Flu: An estimated 100,000 hospitalizations and about 20,000 deaths occur each year from the flu or its complications. (Source: excerpt from Focus On The Flu: NIAID) ... average of 20,000 to 40,000 deaths per year. (Source: excerpt from Microbes in Sickness and in Health - Publications, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: NIAID) ... in the United States more than 100,000 people are hospitalized and more than 20,000 people die from the flu and its complications every year. (Source: excerpt from The Flu, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID) ... In an average year, flu leads to about 20,000 deaths nationwide and many more hospitalizations. (Source: excerpt from What to Do About the Flu - Age Page - Health Information: NIA)