That's a good question. I cckehed our archives to re-read the story about the CDC ceasing to test for H1N1.The point made in that story was that the tests missed many of the H1N1 cases because many people just stayed home and didn't bother to get tested; people just aren't as freaked out by the disease as they once were.Also, the disease surveillance system in this country can't do the comprehensive tracking that the public thinks it can.I guess the question I'd also ask is: Why do we need to know more about H1N1 s presence? We know it's here. We know it's symptoms aren't much different than the seasonal flu. We know flu season is in full force and it's a good bet that a lot of cases are H1N1 cases that no one suspected is H1N1. So, vulnerable populations know they need to be extra careful.And the purpose of a flu report is to raise people's awareness and probably get them more motivated to get vaccinated.If H1N1 were deadlier, the report would also tell government officials if they need to enforce quarantine or shut down schools or airports or whatever. But since H1N1 hasn't proven to be so deadly, we wouldn't really need a report for that.Would you agree with that assessment or is there another point you're trying to make?

by Ravi 03:01:11 AM 2012.05.16