H1N1 Shows Decline – Has it Peaked?
For the third week in a row, numbers released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a reduction in hospitalizations and deaths from H1N1. Dr. Anne Shuchat, Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) says, “the level of influenza activity we are seeing right now remains high even though we saw a little bit of a decrease this week. It is still higher than the peak activity in many years.”
Schuchat was leery of saying the H1N1 disease had “peaked” warning, “even when a peak has occurred half of the people who are going to become ill haven’t gotten ill yet.”
CDC spokesman Tom Skinner warns ”Flu is very unpredictable. While 2009 H1N1 activity is declining in a number of areas around the country, we are still seeing unprecedented levels — levels well above what we would expect for this time of year.”
While there has been a dip, and the trend may continue as we enter the holiday season, Skinner says Americans should not become complaisant. “Activity might go down during the holiday season as schools break and then re-surge when schools start back up after the first of year. In addition, we expect to see a surge of activity due to seasonal viruses as well.”
Each year season flu kills more than 36,000 people in the United States. Typically Seasonal does not reach its peak until January or February according to the CDC website.
