Flu Causes Worldwide Fears of Epidemic

A flu outbreak has made thousands of people sick. Most of the people who became ill were young. Health officials say only about one percent of the people with the latest flu are older than 60 years of age.

The flu was first discovered in rural Mexico in April. The first cases in the United States were reported in the southern parts of California and Texas.

Health officials said in late May that cases of the flu had been found in 46 countries. 

Almost 13,000 cases of the flu were reported worldwide.

The flu was blamed for killing 92 people. The World Health Organization reported that 80 of the deaths were in Mexico. Another 11 were in the United States. One death was reported in Canada. Another death was reported in Costa Rica.

The flu was spreading from person to person. But health experts said the rate of the spread was slowing down in late May.

Wisconsin health officials said no deaths from the flu had been found in the state. But more than 900 people were sickened by the flu in Milwaukee County.

Another 100 cases were in Dane County.  Milwaukee County has the largest population in the state. Dane County has the next largest population.

Flu strikes more young people
Figures from Wisconsin show the illness strikes young people more often. Half of the patients in Wisconsin were

younger than 12 years old. The other half were older. As a result, the median age is 12.
State health officials also said that 75 percent of the patients are under the age of 20. Only two percent of the patients in the state were admitted to hospitals.

People who were born before 1957 may have some protection against the current virus. A similar virus made its way around the world in 1957. People who were exposed to it then may have developed a type of immunity to the current virus, health officials said.

The latest virus was first called the “swine flu.” It was given that name because early tests showed it had many of the genes that are found in pigs in North America. But more tests show it is different.

The latest tests show the current flu, called N1H1, has two genes from viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia. It also has genes found in humans and birds.

The symptoms of the latest flu are similar to those of the regular seasonal flu that strikes people in the United States during winter. They include fever, coughing, sore throat and runny or stuffy noses. Other symptoms are body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue.  

The flu is spread by coughing or sneezing. People with the flu who cough or sneeze in the presence of others can cause the flu to spread, health officials said.