Swine Flu Pandemic Over Estimated This Flu Season

Boston (DbTechNo) - There is finally a bit of good news concerning the swine flu pandemic that has swept the world this year as a study shows that the virus may not be as prominant as it was made out to be.

During the flu season, it was estimated that the swine flu pandemic would reach new heights regarding the number of cases but this actually does not appear to be the case.

The study, performed by US and British researchers, shows that in actual fact the projected impact of swine flu during flu season is not as severe.

Researchers compiled data from the CDC relating to swine flu cases, the number of deaths from the virus, and the number of people hospitalized with it.

” As more detailed data have become available, we have been able to improve our estimates of how severe this disease is. Early on, it was difficult to measure the flu’s impact and it was crucial to plan for the full range of possible outcomes. Fortunately, the virus now appears to be near the milder end,” study senior author Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, said in a news release.

The study can be found in the Dec. 7 online edition of the journal PLoS Medicine.