Across the World: United States

No counting on H1N1

US health officials have lost track of how many illnesses and deaths have been caused by the first global flu epidemic in 40 years. And they did it on purpose.

Government doctors stopped counting H1N1 cases in July, when they estimated more than 1 million were infected in this country. The number of deaths has been sitting at more than 600 since early September. Health officials had previously counted lab-confirmed cases, though the tally was skewed because many people who got sick never were tested. Other nations have stopped relying on lab-confirmed cases, too, and health officials say the current monitoring system is adequate. But not having accurate counts of H1N1 flu means not having a clear picture of how hard the infection is hitting some groups of people, some experts say.