Key development

Key developments on swine flu outbreaks, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and government officials:

_Deaths: Global total of 75 — 68 in Mexico, five in U.S., one in Canada and one in Costa Rica. Officials said Canadian, U.S. and Costa Rican victims also had other medical conditions.

_Confirmed cases: WHO says 39 countries have reported total of 8,480 cases, mostly in U.S. and Mexico.

_Japan said Sunday that its confirmed cases rose to 44, from just five one day earlier. Japan earlier confirmed its first case of swine flu caught within the country, showing that effort to block flu at its borders had failed.

_Turkey's health officials said the virus was detected in a man and his mother who had traveled to Istanbul from the U.S.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hZVkRqV2uZVim0TRk5R1ZBfovTCAD987VUF00

WHO head indicates full flu pandemic to be declared

The World Health Organization is likely to raise its flu alert to the top of its six-point scale and declare a pandemic, its director-general indicated in an interview published on Monday.

WHO chief Margaret Chan warned against over-confidence following a stabilization in the number of new cases of the H1N1 strain that has proved deadly in Mexico.

Before issuing a level 6 alert, the WHO would need to see the virus spreading within communities in Europe or Asia. A declaration of a full pandemic would send a signal to governments worldwide to institute their pandemic response plans, which may include measures affecting hospitals, schools or public events.

Phase 6 would also trigger increased support for developing countries which lack the drugs, diagnostic tests, and medical staff to respond appropriately to the flu that the WHO has said could be especially dangerous for people with HIV/AIDS.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5431DI20090504

Developments on swine flu worldwide

1. Death 16 confirmed in Mexico and one confirmed in U.S.
2. Confirmed sickened worldwide, 653: 397 in Mexico; 155 in U.S.; 51 in Canada; 13 in Spain and Britain; four each in Germany and New Zealand; two in Israel and France; one each in Switzerland, Austria, Hong Kong, South Korea, Denmark and the Netherlands.
3. The World Health Organization increases its tally of confirmed swine flu cases around the world to 615 from 365.
   

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/02/AR2009050200672.html

Swine flu spreads to Asia as Hong Kong reports case

The first confirmed case of swine flu in Asia has been reported in Hong Kong on Friday after a Mexican man tested positive for the virus. The 25-year-old Mexican arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday from Mexico via Shanghai on the China Eastern Airlines flight 505. He was admitted to a hospital on Thursday night, suffering from a fever and tested positive for the swine flu virus. He was in stable condition.

The Metropark Hotel in Wanchai district where the Mexican had been staying has been cordoned off. Hong Kong Health Secretary York Chow said the guests and the staff at the hotel would be quarantined for seven days.

Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\05\02\story_2-5-2009_pg7_4