The Florida health department on Thursday reported that the death toll of the A/H1N1 flu in the southeast US State had jumped to 22, almost doubling the previous record of 12 a week ago.

The state health officials also reported that 727 new cases of the A/H1N1 flu had been confirmed in the past week, increasing from 2,188 to 2,915, or one-third in a week.

Local health officials expect more cases after public schools open next month.

The rapid increase of fatalities from the A/H1N1 virus seems unpredicted by the health officials and local citizens in the state.

Dr. Richard Hopkins, the acting state epidemiologist, said on Thursday that five million Floridians could contract the A/H1N1 flu within a year if the virus follows the pattern of previous pandemics.

The past pandemics were deadly because 30 to 40 percent of the population was infected in previous outbreaks, Dr. Hopkins explained.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta said the A/H1N1 flu is shaping up as a category 2 pandemic similar to the 1957 Asian flu outbreak.

The state health officials are urging people to be prepared for the pandemic declared by the World Health Organization last month.

The state surgeon general Viamonte Ros said last week that Florida is preparing for massive A/H1N1 flu immunizations, starting with schoolchildren when they return school next month.

(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2009)