Who is going to ask the correct questions about the swine flu / novel H1N1 epidemic? The old media doesn’t seem to be.

1. Why are the numbers of cases in Illinois and Wisconsin so high?
2. Why are those cases primarily in Chicago / Cook County and in Milwaukee?
3. Why are many states and the CDC not reporting totals on their websites on the weekend?
4. Why have a small number of states such as Florida stopped reporting cases on their webistes?
5. As of the CDC numbers on May 22, Texas had the most cases. Its site published new numbers that do not appear in the CDC report. The difference is over 400 new cases. Why is Texas next updating its numbers on Wednesday, May 27, and not sooner?
6. As of the CDC numbers on May 22, California had 553 cases. The CDC has had that number since May 18. California’s latest number of cases is 672, published May 21. Why is the CDC not current?
7. The CDC has California third in the number of cases. Why is California only reporting on its site once a week?
8. Why are there so many cases in the State of Washington and especially Seattle?
9. Illinois has been first or second all week with respect to the number of recorded cases. Why is its site only updating the case numbers Monday through Friday?
10. Wisconsin had 766 cases on the CDC report of May 22. Its state website, updated later in the afternoon, shows 1,130 cases. The CDC has used the 766 figure for Wisconsin since May 19. Why is that?
11. On May 21, the CDC report had at least 747 fewer cases recorded than the state websites showed. That’s a 13% difference. Why can’t the reports be more current and reflect each other’s numbers?

That is just a few of the questions we have. Either report the data accurately and daily, if it is important, or do not report it at all. Inaccurate and misleading data does no one any good and serves to only perpetuate panic and distrust of the government.

Perhaps the people of Milwaukee and Seattle and Chicago ought to be made a little more aware that their regions are the primary hotbeds of swine flu activity. Old media? Your turn.

Here is the weekend summary of swine flu / novel H1N1 cases around the globe. Because of various reporting deadlines the numbers may not appear the same on all reports. In addition, many of the states and Federal agencies in the United States have reduced or eliminated regular reporting.

WHO for May 23, 2009: 12,022 cases and 86 deaths in 43 countries.

Nicaragua, Venezuela and Bolivia have not reported any cases of swine flu. Is it true, or are their politics keeping them from reporting?

Canada as of May 22, 2009: 805 cases in 9 provinces and 1 territory, with 1 death. The median age of the cases is 21, meaning that half of the cases are age 21 or younger.

Department of Defense as of May 20, 2009: Reporting once a week now. 294 total cases. All cases are included in the counts by state health agencies and the CDC. Largest new outbreak is at Fort Riley, Kansas with 13 cases since the last DoD report.

CDC Report as of May 22, 2009: 6,552 cases and 9 deaths. CDC numbers continue to vary from state website numbers in some cases. It is not just reporting times differ. It appears that CDC is not pursuing updates from states as there have been occasions that CDC number has remained the same for several days despite state site changes.

Swine flu cases by city/metro area: Milwaukee=706, Chicago=668, Seattle=499, Phoenix=261, NYC and nearby counties=323.

Swine flu cases in Update NY counties: Erie=17 Buffalo area, Onondaga=11 Syracuse area.

Texas exploding with swine flu cases. Only rpting twice a week. 1,359 cases as of today. Rio Grande counties Cameron + Hildalgo=381 cases Milwaukee +194 cases in 4 days, Chicago +155, Seattle +132.

Florida is no longer reporting swine flu numbers on their site. Louisiana’s numbers make little sense. CO and SC counts difficult to locate on website.

CDC reports this morning 5,710 cases of swine flu, or novel H1N1 as they are calling it. 8 deaths, but news reports seem to suggest several more that will be in tomorrow’s data.

It is disappointing to see the lack of current data on many sites.

Illinois: 794 cases. Chicago and Cook County have 589 cases.

Wisconsin: Big difference between CDC- 766 cases and latest state count- 885 cases. 614 cases in Milwaukee.

Texas: CDC shows 556 cases and 3 deaths, last Friday’s numbers. Texas updates its site twice weekly. Now showing 694 cases and 3 deaths.

California: Continues to post Friday’s case numbers, 553 cases.

New York State: CDC is showing 284 cases and 1 death. NYS shows 299 cases and one death. 201 cases are recorded for New York City. 77 cases in the nearby suburban counties. 17 cases upstate. Map here.

Department of Defense: No updates since Friday.

The CDC and most state websites were not updated over the weekend. Here is today’s report. Keep in mind that most state sites will update later this afternoon while the CDC will do so again tomorrow morning.

CDC: 5,123 cases and 5 deaths

Illinois: 13.6% of national total. 696 cases, 513 in Chicago and Cook County.

Wisconsin: 12% of national total in CDC count. State site shows 655 cases. 476 cases in Milwaukee. CDC has 613 cases in their count.

Texas: 10.9% of national total. 556 cases. Cases centered around Dallas / Fort Worth, San Antonio and Brownsville.

California: 10.8% of national total. 553 cases. Centered around San Diego, San Bernardino and Los Angeles.

New York State: The state site is showing 259 cases and the CDC 254. 186 cases are from New York City. Westchester County has 15, Nassau County has 23 and Suffolk County 18.

UPDATE: The CDC and the Department of Defense have elected to not update their site with current case numbers on the weekend. Most of the state sites have also done so. Expect new numbers on Monday. Ask your elected officials why updates are so unimportant.

Here is the latest on the swine flu / H1N1 epidemic in the United States and the U.S. military. The number of cases continues to increase. Many states report their counts in the afternoon, after the CDC has issued its daily count, leading to differences in the numbers of cases recorded.

CDC: 4,714 cases and 4 deaths

Illinois: 638 cases. 473 in Chicago and Cook County (metro Chicago).

Wisconsin: 655 cases. 476 in Milwaukee. State count is slightly higher than CDC.

Texas: 556 cases. State count is 10% higher than CDC.

California: 504 cases. State website is 1 day behind at this moment. San Diego and San Bernardino counties top the list of cases recorded with 110 and 67 respectively.

Arizona: 435 cases. State site records fewer cases. 70% of cases under 18.

DoD: 253 cases. Daily cases doubled for May 15 to 48 from around 24.

• Active duty military: 125
• Family members: 111
• Recruits: 12
• Retired: 2
• Unknown at this time: 3

3 cases reported at a base in Mississippi but nothing on today’s CDC report for that state. 37 cases in San Diego shown as “ship”, presumably the USS Dubuque. 8 bases are newly reporting cases in the last 24 hours.