News & Perspective

(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.

(CIDRAP News) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signaled today that it will change its current recommendation—which is to close schools for at least 2 weeks when a confirmed case of novel H1N1 swine flu is found among students—as health officials in the Seattle area and Minnesota scaled back their guidance to reflect more of a seasonal influenza approach.

The global count of confirmed H1N1 swine influenza cases rose to 1,658 in 23 countries, with 30 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported at a briefing today. Mexico continued to lead the list with 946 cases. [May 6 WHO swine flu update]

The World Health Organization (WHO) listed a global total of 2,500 confirmed cases of swine influenza H1N1 in 25 countries today. That total included 1,204 cases in Mexico, 896 cases in the United States (yesterday's number), 214 in Canada, 88 in Spain, and 34 in the United Kingdom. The death toll remains at 44, including 42 in Mexico and 2 in the United States. [WHO update 22]

WHO's novel H1N1 flu case count tops 4,500The global number of people infected with the novel H1N1 influenza (swine flu) virus rose to 4,694 from 30 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today. The count includes 1,626 cases and 48 deaths in Mexico and the 2,532 cases and 3 deaths reported in the United States as of yesterday. Canada has reported 284 cases and one death. [WHO update 25]

Global novel H1N1 flu cases surpass 5,000The global count of novel H1N1 influenza (swine flu) case confirmations has increased to 5,251 from 30 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today. The total includes 2,059 cases with 56 deaths in Mexico and 2,600 cases and 3 deaths reported in the United States as of yesterday. Canada has had 330 cases and 1 death, and Costa Rica has reported 8 cases and 1 death.[WHO update 26]