U.S. health experts say it appears the number of cases for this wave of the swine flu outbreak has peaked.
"We're going from a time where there was a lot of disease and not a lot of vaccine, to a time when the disease is decreasing," says the Centers for Disease Control's Dr. Thomas R. Frieden.
Still, the CDC says the virus still poses a threat with widespread cases in 32 states and deaths still being reported.
Since August at least 234 children have died from swine flu, along with nearly 1,000 adults nationwide.
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CDC experts say it appears the virus peaked in mid-October, in part, because vaccine production increased along with the number of people getting flu shots.
In Oregon during the past week, 59 people were hospitalized and three died from swine flu, according to state public health officials. Since Sept. 1, 1,242 people have been hospitalized and 52 have died.
There are nearly 70 million doses of vaccine now available, and the CDC is urging children, pregnant women and other Americans who fall into a priority group to get vaccinated if they have not already.
Experts say during the flu pandemic of 1957, an outbreak similar to H1N1, there was a surge of cases at the beginning of the school year and then a drop in late fall.
However, cases spiked again in January, February and March leading some to believe another wave of swine flu could be in our future.
Dr. Mel Kohn, the director of the Oregon Public Health Division, warned Oregonians to remember "basic flu prevention measures" when shopping or attending holiday parties.
Preventative measures include washing hands, covering coughs and staying home when sick.
