Disease expert says swine flu risks similar to those of regular seasonal flu

A disease expert says the swine flu in the U.S. should not affect those people infected any more than regular influenza. There are currently 21 confirmed cases of swine flu in five different states of the U.S.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Jerry Gibson.  “From the 21 confirmed U.S. cases of this swine virus, we see that the spectrum of disease, how sick people get, is about like regular seasonal flu.  It’s now unusually severe.” 
Gibson says for now, that alleviates a major fear over the severity of the disease in the U.S.   ” That’s good news, as long as this holds true as long as we see more cases.  That means that most people who get it will get sick for a few days, then they’ll get better.”
But health experts point out that even the regular seasonal flu is far from the common cold. In the U.S.last year, 36,000 people died from the seasonal flu and more than 200,000 were hospitalized. Most of those hospitalized were older than age 65.