The H1N1 flu virus, also known as swine flu, could create hospital bed shortage in 15 US states, according to a study released on Thursday.

Meanwhile, 12 other states could reach or exceed 75 percent of their hospital bed capacity, said the study by the non-profit group Trust for America's Health.

These scenarios could become reality if 35 percent of Americans get sick, the study noted.

The number of people who could get sick with H1N1 flu in the United States ranges from a high of 12.9 million in California and a low of 186,434 in Wyoming, and the number of people who are hospitalized could range from a high of 168,025 in California to a low of 2,485 in Wyoming, according to the study.

The states that are expected to face the most severe shortage of hospital beds are Delaware (203 percent), Connecticut (148 percent), Hawaii (143 percent) and Maryland (143 percent).

The estimates were based on the FluSurge model developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The country's much more prepared than we were a few short years ago for a pandemic, but there are some long-term underlying problems which complicate response efforts, like surge capacity and the need to modernize core public health areas like communications and surveillance capabilities," Jeff Levi, executive director at Trust for America's Health, said in a news release.

(Xinhua News Agency October 2, 2009)