Swine Flu – First U.S. Death Is Reported
April 29, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
American authorities confirmed the first death outside of Mexico from swine flu on Wednesday, as the number of confirmed cases of the disease continued to rise in Europe.
President Obama, in a morning news conference, called on local authorities to be vigilant in reporting new suspected cases, and called on schools to consider closing temporarily if a confirmed case was reported among its students.
[...]
Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday in an interview with CNN that the first American death of the disease was a 23-month-old child in Texas. He gave no other details about the child. The death was confirmed by President Obama, who said his “thoughts and prayers” were with the child’s family.
Swine Flu – World Counting Down To Pandemic Says Top Virologist
April 27, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
A Chinese virologist who helped fight SARS and bird flu warned on Monday of a possible swine flu pandemic that the most populous countries in Asia, China and India, would be ill-prepared to handle.
“We are counting down to a pandemic,” said Guan Yi, a professor at the University of Hong Kong who helped trace the outbreak of SARS in 2003 to the civet cat.
“I think the spread of this virus in humans cannot possibly be contained within a short time … there are already cases in almost every region. The picture is changing every moment.”
Guan, who has been studying and tracking the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus ever since it was discovered in people in Hong Kong in 1997, said there would be “many problems” if swine flu reached China and India, “where populations are so dense and health infrastructure is still insufficient.”
The virus, which carries swine, avian and human DNA and the designation H1N1, has already killed up to 103 people in Mexico, infected 20 in the United States and six in Canada.
There are many questions surrounding this virus, such as why it appears milder in the United States and deadlier in Mexico.
“It may seem weaker for now in the United States, but we do not know if it will get more virulent when it goes to another place as it mutates constantly,” said Guan.
Mexico Swine Flu Death Toll Rises To 103
April 27, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
The probable death toll from a swine flu epidemic in Mexico has reached 103 people, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova announced.
The minister said on national television that the number of those hospitalized due to the epidemic stood at about 400.
The previous probable death toll, announced Saturday, stood at 81 confirmed and suspected swine flu fatalities.
Meanwhile, the number of cases under observation has reached 1,614, up from 1,324, according to the minister.
