Accordin g to the World Health Organization, 1490 official cases of influenza A (H1N1), the swine flu, have been reported in 21 countries.
In the United States there are 403 cases in 38 states. The following countries have cases – without any deaths:
- Austria – 1
- Canada – 140
- China – 1
- Columbia – 1
- Costa Rica – 1
- Denmark – 1
- El Salvador – 2
- France – 4
- Germany – 9
- Ireland – 1
- Israel – 4
- Italy – 5
- Netherlands – 1
- New Zealand – 6
- Portugal – 1
- Republic of Korea – 2
- Spain – 57
- Switzerland – 1
- UK – 27
On Tuesday, May 5th, state officials in Texas confirmed what appears to be the first death of a U.S. citizen from the swine flu. The World Health Organization met on Tuesday to discuss how the virus is spreading. While they say that the spread of the flu is still in early stages, they do warn that all countries should stay vigilant and keep an eye out for new cases. Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that “we are by no means out of the woods.”
Right now the WHO is still classifying the pandemic alert at Phase 5, which is its second highest level. This is the phase where human-to-human spread of a particular virus is noted in at least two countries in one reason.
