U.S. flu cases jump as labs catch up

The tally of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States jumped Sunday to 244 in 34 states, but officials said that's largely from catching up on a backlog of lab tests rather than a sudden spurt in new infections.

The new number, up from 160 on Saturday, reflects streamlining in federal procedures and the results of tests by states, which have only recently begun confirming cases, said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Because states are now contributing their results, and because there are many cases to analyze, "I expect the numbers to jump quite a bit in the next couple days," she told reporters Sunday.
Beyond eating into the backlog, the new number also reflects that "we do think this virus is fairly widespread," she said. CDC's count of states with confirmed cases reached 30 on Sunday.

"Virtually all of the United States probably has this virus circulating now. That doesn't mean that everybody's infected, but within the communities, the virus has arrived."

Later Sunday, a few more states reported their first confirmed infections, including North Carolina with one case.