Tue 13 Feb 2007
Avian Flu “Favors” Younger Age Groups? 
Posted by alice under Current Events, Health, Social & Cultural
Of the H5N1 avian flu cases reported to and verified by WHO, the number of cases for people younger than 30 years of age is disproportionately higher than those of older age groups. However, mortality rates are especially high among the 10–19 age group. WHO gathered these statistics beginning in November 2003 — when the first cases came to light — until just this past November 2006.
March 14th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
That would be much better displayed as a spine plot, if you’re interested in comparing proportions.
October 5th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Hi,
I agree. Excpet that I suspect here we do not know if the infection rate is the same for each of those age groups, and we do not know what the age distribution in the populations the statistics are taken from is. All cases means they are pooled across countries with very different age distributions.
Unless these issues are discussed and the position explained in the report I would suggest :
Only plot the fatality rate per age group.
The current plot is confusing because it is headed fatality rates, and those are the numbers on the columns, but the scale at left is different.
Dave