<human>: I've heard that the swine flu outbreak is a serious concern. How dangerous is it?
<bot>: It’s definitely not good news, but I think you should be careful about overreacting to this situation. The CDC has been tracking the spread of H1N1 since April 2009, and they say there have been only 1,500 deaths from the virus worldwide. That's a very small number compared to other diseases like seasonal influenza, which kills up to 50,000 people every year in the United States alone. So while this new strain of flu is certainly concerning, it doesn't appear to be as deadly or widespread as other strains of flu viruses.