Main developments in the past 24 hours
- Estimates from the US suggest nearly 10,000 deaths due to 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) infection
- US and Canada epidemiological updates included
- A total of 1 371 fatal cases in Europe and EFTA countries and 9 662 in the rest of the world have been reported up to date.
This report is based on official information provided by national public health websites or through other official communication channels.
Reported number of confirmed Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza cases admitted to hospitals and intensive care, by country, as of 15 December 2009, 9.00 CEST in EU and EFTA countries are in Table 1. An update on the number of confirmed fatal cases for the world and Europe is presented in Table 2.
Epidemiologic update
All 27 EU and 4 EFTA countries are reporting cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza. A total of 1 371 deaths have been reported since April 2009 (Table 2). Since week 41 the numbers of deaths each has shown a steady increase almost doubling every fortnight over the last six weeks. While the most deaths have to date been in Western Europe there are increasing numbers of deaths being reported from Central and Eastern Europe. The reported cumulative fatal pandemic (H1N1) cases in the world have now passed 10 000 cases (Table 2). However, because of lack of laboratory confirmation and underreporting among other factors, this is likely to be a gross underestimation of the true number fatalities associated with the pandemic. Available updates on hospital admissions, per Member State, can be found in Table 1.