Cold and Flu Statistics

The common cold & flu are a major threat to health in the United States year after year. Most people see these as illnesses that are not serious threats. However, left unchecked, they can be as deadly as some of the more fearful diseases.

Each year, the common flu infects hundreds of thousands of people. In 2008, over 39,000 cases were serious enough that people sought medical attention. Over 225,000 people had severe enough symptoms that they were tested for flu. Also during the 2008 flu season, flu-related deaths accounted at one point for 9.1% of nationwide deaths.

According to the CDC, in an average year over 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and 36,000 people die from complications related to the common flu. This should be enough for anyone to take their next case of the common flu very seriously.

Statistics for the common cold are even more astounding. The National Center for Health Statistics estimated in 1996 that there were 62 million cases of the common cold that either required a

visit to a doctor or restricted normal activity. Flu statistics have steadily increased in the last several years, so it is safe to say that cold statistics will also have increased. If you divide that number over the course of a year, that equates to 117 cases of the common cold every minute, with almost 2 occurring every second. Additionally, some estimates have the number of colds each year topping 1 billion. Consider this: there are over 300 million people in the United States. To hit 1 billion colds per year, each person would only need to have 3-4 colds in a given year.

According to the CDC’s statistics, the confirmed cases of flu in the United States went up from 23,753 in the 2006-07 flu season to 39,827 in 2007-08. That’s also an increase from 2005-06, which was 17,977. This number is not the cases of flu, but the confirmed cases which sought medical attention and happened to be recorded by the CDC.

The common flu and common cold have not been taken seriously for years, but it is becoming apparent that they have every right to be ranked with the deadliest diseases humans can catch. It is important to take proper precautions and stay healthy, and to always take even the simplest of symptoms seriously.