Us reports one million cases of swine flu???

[horaholic]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/health/27flu.html?_r=1&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&ei=5040

Anyone else think their numbers may be a little off? ONE MILLION???? other sources say there are around 20 thousand confirmed cases, and 127 deaths. Who the hell came up with this one million number? I believe there are 300 million people in the US. That means one out of every three hundred people have gotten swine flu. I know the media spouts a lot of bullshyt, but come on!!

A survey in New York City, she said, showed that almost 7 percent of those called had had flu symptoms during just three weeks in May when the flu was spreading rapidly through schools. If that percentage of the city has had it, then there have been more than 500,000 cases in the city alone, though most have been mild enough that doctors recommended nothing more than rest and fluids.

I wonder what that percentage would be under normal circumstances?


So they are assuming that anyone who has had flu symptoms within the last three months was infected by swine flu, as if normal colds and flu are gone, and swine flu is the only disease exhibiting flu symptoms. Christ all mighty!

So now, this one million number is being plastered all over the world due to a completely unscientific phone survey which assumes anyone who has had symptoms, has had swine flu. What a crock.

Edit. Anyone checking other numbers for swine flu, be sure to check the date of the article. The article on playthings post below was may 19th.

 

[pLaYtHiNg]

Sounds a bit off, to me to. Perhaps it's a typo. Never believe everything you read! Besides it says some of the stats were based on phone surveys, and/or people who complained of flu-like symptoms.

Did you notice the plug at the end of the article, regarding the soon-to-be limited supply of vaccines due in September? Looks like they're hyping numbers so sales will be good when the vaccine is approved.

http://pigflu.com/content/h1n1-swine-flu-statistics-united-states

This site says 4,714 cases.

 

[Levex]

BS.

That would mean 1 in 300 people got swine flu, real numbers are nowhere near that.

 

[Da Realist]

I read the number is high because they used a mathematical model to guess how many people are really infected. There may be 20,000 people confirmed, but you have to think there are people who hadn't been found at the time or may have gotten over it and never knew they had it. I don't know about a million people having it, but I would say there is a higher number than the confirmed cases also.