Swinally Some Good News: H1N1 Cases Decreasing

I've never been one to be paranoid about my health, but I must admit: the swine flu had me spooked.

For a while there I felt like I could never read a newspaper or walk past a television without hearing some horrible story about someone getting horribly ill — or worse — due to this somewhat mysterious new illness.

But finally we have some hopeful H1N1 news. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday that swine flu infections seem to be dropping. The widespread pandemic appears to be slightly less widespread this past week, with just 32 states reporting a large number of flu cases, down from 43 states the week before. Thirty two states is a big drop compared to the whopping 48 states that reported widespread swine flu activity in October. But now, fewer schools are closing due to swine flu activity, and some predict that we might be past the peak of the second wave of the disease, first identified this past April.

But don't think this good news means you should stop sanitizing those hands. The CDC says this year's flu season has been so unpredictable they can't say for sure whether swine flu cases are down for good, or just taking a little break.

"Nothing is typical about this year's influenza. We may have weeks and months of a lot of disease ahead of us," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, who heads the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, at a recent press conference, according to the Associated Press.

So wash those hands, sneeze into your elbow and be thankful that swine flu hasn't infected you yet. Just try to keep it that way, OK?

Photo courtesy of evah via stock.xchang.