Flu Facts, Statistics & History
Each year in the United States, 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications and about 36,000 people die from the flu.
In the 1918 Spanish Flu, 1/4 of the United States' and 1/5 of the world's people were infected with influenza. This resulted in an estimated 40-50 million deaths.
Flu pandemics in 1957 and 1968 took a combined 3 million lives worldwide.
Researchers predict that if a pandemic occurs, it could last as long as 12 to 18 months.
Populations that are considered high risk for contracting the flu include: people 65 years and older, people who live in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities, adults and children 6 months and older with chronic heart or lung conditions or who need regular medical care or were in a hospital during the previous year because of a metabolic disease, chronic kidney disease or weakened immune system, children 6 months to 18 years of age who are on long term aspirin therapy, women who will be pregnant during the flu season, people with any condition that can compromise respiratory function or the handling of respiratory secretions.
Some research studies show that there is an increase in influenza infections among smokers compared to nonsmokers. There is also a higher mortality rate for smokers with influenza than nonsmokers with influenza.