The current estimated death rate in Mexico is 3.8 percent. The death rate for cases not in Mexico, including the U.S. is 0.2 percent, that's the same as what we see for the seasonal flu each year.
The death rate of the 1918 Spanish flu was 2.5 percent. The death rate from the Avian, or bird flu, was 61-percent.
Public health officials expect the current numbers to change. But what they say is concerning about the swine flu is who it seems to be affecting. The seasonal flu is usually most severe for the very young and the very old but the CDC says the swine flu seems to be hitting older children and younger adults more severely. In Mexico, 9 of the 19 deaths occurred in people between the ages of 21 and 39.
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