Swine Flu (H1N1) panic not based on facts! (Part TWO of THREE)
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Swine
Flu
Panic
in
Perspective
By Frank S.
Rosenbloom, M.D.
October 29th, 2009
American Thinker
AMERICANTHINKER.COM
__Part TWO of THREE
__Links are in GREEN
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In May of this year
I wrote an article entitled
In it I noted the following:
Finally,36,000 people die fromInfluenza every yearin this country.
That’s 100 peoplea day on average!
Sadly,a baby from Mexicodied in Texas fromthe Swine Flu.
There will likely bemore deaths here,but not in the numberssome would have youbelieve.
However, about 100people in the US diefrom the typical fluevery day.
Swine flu is a flu!
Of course,every life is precious.
But more Americansdie from car accidentsthan the flu.
Do we needto be vigilant?
Of course.
Should wefoment panic?
Absolutely not.
I cautioned that more people
would likely die but held
strongly to the belief that the
panic was more dangerous
than the disease.
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Now,
five months later,
after reviewing the evidence,
I have not changed my mind.
So let’s review the data.
The CDC
(Centers for Disease Control)
report on the leading causes
of death for 2006,
the last year for which complete
statistics are available,
can be found
Note that there were
56,326 deaths caused by
“influenza and pneumonia.”
Why are these combined?
Simply because while we
have a pretty good idea of
the number of people who
died of pneumonia,
we have to estimate the
number of deaths for which
influenza was a contributing
factor.
The way in which the CDC
does this can be found
A relatively small number
of people are tested for seasonal
influenza relative to the number
who present with respiratory
infections.
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Furthermore,
patients with flu-like syndrome
are tested for seasonal
influenza and,
surprisingly,
Out of a total of 273 cities
with populations of over
100,000, and hundreds more
with populations over 10,000,
the CDC monitors seasonal
influenza mortality statistics
from just 122 cities.
Don’t get me wrong;
the CDC does a good job,
but by its very nature and
magnitude it is an incomplete
job.
Though seasonal influenza
may cause a higher proportion
of deaths than reported,
it is estimated that it causes
around 36,000 deaths annually.
What is happening
with H1N1?
For starters,
as mentioned above,
people are seeking medical
intervention much more quickly
and often for symptoms they
would have ignored or treated
at home with chicken soup
and Tylenol in years past.
Additionally,
proportionately larger numbers
of people were initially getting
tested,
even when they had only
the remotest possibility of
having the disease.
The fact that more people
were tested meant that more
would be diagnosed.
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H1NI SWINE FLU links below
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