Atlanta , Georgia ( CNN ) -- The H1N1 virus , also known as swine flu , may have killed as many as 17,000 Americans , according to new estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) in Atlanta . Though 2,498 confirmed deaths linked to the H1N1 virus had been reported to the CDC as of January 30 , the agency estimates that between 8,330 and 17,160 people actually have died from H1N1 . The overwhelming majority of the people who died -- between 6,390 and 13,170 -- were 18 to 64 years old , the CDC estimates . Between 880 and 1,810 children 17 years old and younger also died from this flu , according to CDC estimates . In comparison , the CDC says that in a regular flu season , about 36,000 people in the United States die from seasonal flu , with 90 percent of the deaths usually occurring in people age 65 and older . Since this new flu virus emerged in April 2009 , health officials have recognized that the reported numbers of people who have been hospitalized and died provide only a partial picture of the full outbreak . Underreporting of influenza cases and deaths is common , especially in the early weeks or months of an outbreak . By mid-July last year , the World Health Organization ( WHO ) no longer recommended that countries with known H1N1 transmission test everybody who had flulike symptoms , as laboratories were being overwhelmed . Patients were to be diagnosed based on symptoms alone , since nearly all of the circulating flu strains were H1N1 . Only severe cases of flu , which lead to hospitalization or death , were to be tested . The CDC adopted these recommendations for the United States , also . Despite the recommendation that deaths suspected to be from H1N1 be tested , the CDC is aware that many are not , and in many cases H1N1 might not have been suspected . The new CDC estimates are based on laboratory-confirmed cases , flu surveillance data and mathematical modeling , CDC spokesman Richard Quartarone told CNN . According to the report released Friday , the CDC estimates an average of 57 million people have been infected with H1N1 and an average 257,000 cases resulted in hospitalizations . Health officials continue to urge people who have n't received a vaccination to do so . `` The real tragedy is that people are still getting sick and we have a vaccine that will help prevent illness , '' Quartarone said .
CDC estimates between 8,330 and 17,160 people have died from H1N1 . The virus is believed to be circulating in the United States but has not yet been found on U.S. soil. In a regular flu season , about 36,000 people in U.S. die from seasonal flu . 90 percent of those deaths usually are people age 65 and older .