CDC expects swine flu to cause deaths in U.S.

WASHINGTON – As the number of confirmed U.S. swine flu cases jumped from 45 to 66 on Tuesday, a federal health official said it’s only a matter of time before the highly contagious disease claims its first American fatality.

“As we continue to investigate cases here, I expect that we will see deaths in this country,” said Richard Besser, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during a press conference Tuesday.

Besser’s prediction reflects the growing threat posed by the mysterious swine flu virus and the inability of health officials both here and abroad to contain its spread.

“No single action that somebody takes, whether it be the government, a community, a family or an individual, will halt this. But the combined actions that we all take together will reduce the impact on our communities and on our health,” Besser said.

Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s interim deputy director for science and public health programs, echoed Besser’s concerns during testimony before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday.

“Based on the pattern of illness that we’re seeing here in the United States, we don’t think that this virus can be contained, that we can stop it at the border. But we do think we can reduce the impact of its spread and we can reduce the impact on health” by focusing on “community mitigation” efforts, Schuchat said.

These can include taking extra precautions such as stepped-up hand washing and increased diagnostic screening or simply avoiding sick people and keeping ill adults and children home from work and school to avoid further disease transmission.

To assist in these efforts, President Barack Obama asked Congress on Tuesday to add $1.5 billion to his 2009 supplemental budget request to help fight the swine flu outbreak.

In a letter to Congress, Obama said the money could be used to help boost stockpiles of antiviral medications, develop a swine flu vaccine or assist international efforts to stem the outbreak.

It remains unclear why the disease hasn’t hit as severely outside Mexico.

Besser said authorities are looking at a number of factors, including whether the virus has changed, what differs about the environment where the infections occurred, how the immune systems of infected patients reacted as well as the ages and gender of those afflicted. In addition, health officials are evaluating initial medical treatment, how much time lapsed before the victims sought medical care and whether they received antiviral medications.