Ironically, the appearance of the H1N1 flu during the past nine months might be thought of as a net public-health benefit, because it appears to have suppressed, or at least supplanted, the far more virulent and lethal seasonal flu strains. During the second week of January, 3.7% of Americans tested positive for the seasonal flu, compared to 11.5% during the same week in 2009.
颇具讽刺意味的是，可以将九个月来H1N1流感病毒的出现看作一种公共健康的净造福因素，因为它似乎抑制、至少也是取代了毒性更大、致命性更强的季节性流感病毒。1月的第二个星期期间，有3.7%的美国人季节性流感测试呈阳性，而在2009年的同一个星期，上述比率高达11.5%。全世界因H1N1造成死亡的官方统计人数不到14，000人，而季节性流感仅在美国就平均导致36,000人的丧命，在世界其他国家更是杀害数十万人的元凶。