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Twenty countries were reporting a total of 985 confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 (swine flu) as of early today, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported. Mexico has reported 590 cases with 25 deaths. The WHO total includes yesterday's US report of 226 cases in 30 states, with one death. Other countries with more than 10 cases were Canada, 85; Spain, 40; and the United Kingdom, 15. [WHO statement]
(CIDRAP News) The tentative detection of the novel swine influenza H1N1 virus in an Alberta swine herd over the weekend shook Canada's pork industry and raised concern about the potential for new hybrid viruses to emerge.
(CIDRAP News) Federal officials will acquire 13 million more courses of antiviral medication for the nation's Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and have begun sending 400,000 treatment courses to Mexico to help control the spread of the virus, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced yesterday.
— Update #2
(CIDRAP News) National and international health authorities said today that they have begun the first steps in manufacturing a vaccine against the novel H1N1 swine influenza, though they appeared to disagree over whether full-scale manufacturing will move forward.
(CIDRAP News) The first person in Mexico to have a confirmed case of swine influenza H1N1 fell ill on Mar 17, only 11 days before the first case on the American side of the border, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported yesterday in a profile of Mexico's flu outbreak.
The media may have deflected their focused attention away from the novel H1N1 influenza virus (what they've called swine flu) for the moment, but I know you're still on high alert, and with good reason.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 331 cases of swine influenza H1N1 in 11 countries as of 6 a.m. GMT today. The case numbers by country are United States, 109 (1 death) (these are yesterday's totals); Mexico, 156 (9 deaths), Canada, 34; Spain, 13; United Kingdom, 8; New Zealand, 3; Germany, 3; Israel, 2; and 1 each in Austria, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. [WHO update 7]
The World Health Organization's (WHO's) global count of confirmed swine flu cases stands at 257 cases in 11 countries today. The United States has 109 cases and 1 death; Mexico has 97 cases and 7 deaths. [WHO update 6]
(CIDRAP News) To quell the notion that pigs are to blame for the swine influenza H1N1 epidemic, three international agencies said today they would take the "swine" out of the virus's name and call it "influenza A/H1N1" instead.
(CIDRAP News) Vice President Joe Biden today told Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" show that he has advised his family not to fly on airlines or ride subways to avoid exposure to the swine flu virus, a message that goes well beyond the government's current travel advice for Americans to avoid nonessential trips to Mexico.
(CIDRAP News) Top US officials responsible for managing the nation's response to the swine influenza outbreak today faced increasing pressure to implement more aggressive measures at the Mexico border and reveal more details about the status of a vaccine.
After seeing the pandemic alert level sit at phase 3 for years, suddenly witnessing the World Health Organization (WHO) accelerate from phase 3 to phase 5 in mere days feels terribly unnerving. Unfortunately, it's the nature of the beastliterally.
Apr 29, 2009
(CIDRAP News) To confront the spreading swine influenza H1N1 virus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) today raised the agency's pandemic alert level to phase 5, one notch below a full-fledged influenza pandemic, signaling that it's time for all countries to prepare.
The move comes just 2 days after the WHO raised the alert from phase 3, where it had been for several years, to phase 4.
(CIDRAP News) –At an emergency hearing today of the Senate appropriations committee, Sen Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said the Obama administration will ask for $1.5 billion to fight the swine influenza epidemic, as committee members sought to get a handle on the elements and cost estimates of the public health response.
Editor's note: Today we are launching a daily digest of the latest developments concerning the swine influenza H1N1 virus. This digest will be updated more than once a day as news developments dictate.
(CIDRAP News) As the official count of US swine influenza cases rose to 64 today, top federal health officials said it's becoming increasingly clear that the virus is spreading beyond people who recently traveled to Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak.
Big news today: The World Health Organization (WHO) ended days of speculation and finally bumped the pandemic alert level to phase 4. What's more, it did so after releasing revamped definitions and meanings yesterday.
(CIDRAP News) The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed 20 more swine influenza cases, all connected to previous cases at a New York City high school, and said federal officials will issue new travel advice urging against nonessential travel to Mexico.
