Five people with swine flu in the US were hospitalized, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today. So far, only one patient in the US was hospitalized, a 41 year old woman who recovered.
CDC and health agencies in other countries have been baffled by the absence of severe illness from swine flu outside Mexico, now suspect the infection led to hospitalization nearly 2,000 people and more than 150 deaths. "As we continue to look for cases," said CDC Director Richard Besser Acting at a press conference, "we will see a broader spectrum of disease. ... I think we will see deaths in this country. "
Besser said three hospitalized patients in California and two in Texas, but he had no details on individuals. CDC has confirmed 64 cases, with 45 of those in New York.
CDC has investigators in Mexico helping to sort why this epidemic has apparently caused many more cases of serious illness. "At this point, we have not been able to rule in or out assumptions," said Besser.
President Barack Obama today called for $ 1.5 billion from Congress to help fight the swine flu. This was news to Besser at the press conference. "I had not heard that," he said, adding that it was not uncommon to have additional funding requests during a public health emergency.
0 Komentar