Interesting....

Maybe this could be filed under the heading of silver lining on a dark cloud:
Swine Flu Means Killer Winter Influenza May Not Come

Seasonal flu, which annually kills 30,000 Americans 65 and over, may not appear in the U.S. for the first time in more than 40 years, crowded out by the swine flu pandemic and mass vaccination campaigns.

When H1N1 struck in the Southern Hemisphere it completely blocked the seasonal flu. Their flu season ended in September with none of the usual seasonal flu numbers showing up at all.

Here in the US:

Seasonal strains are almost nonexistent in reports from countries where swine flu, or H1N1, has taken hold. In the U.S. and Europe, 99 percent of influenza cases tested last week were H1N1

Which brings the hope that the seasonal flu season, which runs from December through February will be a very quiet one.

But there is this caveat:

Swine flu infection rates decreased in each of the last six weeks, the Atlanta-based CDC reported. That has spurred a debate among health officials on whether the H1N1 pandemic is grinding to a halt, and whether that strain will be replaced by a surge of seasonal cases as the Northern Hemisphere enters winter.

H1N1 infected 50 million people in the U.S. and killed an estimated 10,000 through Nov. 14 from the start of the pandemic in April, the CDC reported last week. About 90 percent of swine flu deaths were among people younger than 65.

With seasonal flu, the effects are reversed, with more than 90 percent of annual deaths among those ages 65 or older, according to the CDC.

So, if you are so inclined and/or have daily contact with lots of people, it might still be a good idea to go get your flu shots if you haven't done so already.