As of mid-October, an estimated 63,000-153,000 Americans have been hospitalized with 2009 H1N1 flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced yesterday. Previous CDC estimates included only laboratory-confirmed cases, while the new cumulative estimate adjusts that figure to account for the fact that many cases are not confirmed through testing. Using the new methodology, CDC estimates that 14-34 million U.S. cases of H1N1 flu have occurred in the first six months of the pandemic, including 2,500-6,100 deaths. Details on the new estimates, including a breakdown by age groups, can be found at
www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu. The CDC plans to update the estimates every three to four weeks using the new methodology.
