Health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are again concerned about the possibility of an outbreak of swine flu-so concerned, in fact, that they're asking state public health labs across the country to notify them immediately if they susect someone is infected with the virus.
Since August, 12 people have been infected with the virus, called H3N2, in Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Swine flu swept the globe beginning in 2009, when the H1N1 subtype of the virus was first detected. An estimated 43 million to 89 million Americans caught swine flue during the pandemic. According to the CDC, between 8,870 and 18,300 deaths were linked to the virus. The World Health Organization officially declared an end to the H1N1 pandemic in August 2010.
This year's flu vaccine includes the H3N2 virus, along with the H1N1 virus.
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