H1N1 Virus Swine Flu 286 Cases In 36 US States Likely To Spread To Every State Says CDC

H1N1 Virus swine flu has infected 286 people in 36 U.S. states and it is likely to spread to every state, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Monday.

Besser said the CDC was even reconsidering the strategy of closing schools where cases turn up. More than 500 U.S. schools have been closed because of outbreaks.

Schools are closed to protect children, and to keep children from being “amplifiers” who spread an infection in the community. But this virus is looking to be as mild as seasonal flu, which only rarely kills children.

“We are seeing over 700 probable cases in a total of 44 states,” Besser said. So far, 99 percent of probable cases have, upon further testing, turned out to be the new H1N1 strain, Besser said.

“This likely represents an underestimation of the total number of cases across the United States,” Besser added, because most people with flu-like symptoms — fever, aching muscles and cough — are not even getting tested.