“We are now seeing a rising tide of flu in many parts of New York City,” said New York City Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden earlier Sunday.

“With the virus spreading widely, closing these and other individual schools will make little difference in transmission throughout New York City, but we hope will help slow transmission within the individual school communities.”

An New York middle school assistant principal who was hospitalized with the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, died Sunday apparently from flu complications, a hospital spokesman said.

H1N1 Swine Flu Updates

As of 06:00 GMT, 13 May 2009, 33 countries have officially reported 5728 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

Mexico has reported 2059 laboratory confirmed human cases of infection, including 56 deaths. The United States has reported 3009 laboratory confirmed human cases, including three deaths. Canada has reported 358 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death. Costa Rica has reported eight laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths – Argentina (1), Australia (1), Austria (1), Brazil (8), China (3, comprising 1 in China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and 2 in mainland China), Colombia (6), Cuba (1), Denmark (1), El Salvador (4), Finland (2), France (13), Germany (12), Guatemala (3), Ireland (1), Israel (7), Italy (9), Japan (4), Netherlands (3), New Zealand (7), Norway (2), Panama (29), Poland (1), Portugal (1), Republic of Korea (3), Spain (98), Sweden (2), Switzerland (1), Thailand (2), and the United Kingdom (68).

Because the new swine flu virus — technically called H1N1 — is a highly unusual genetic mix of bird, flu and human viruses, health officials worry that it could continue to mutate and return in a more virulent form for next winter’s flu season.

As the swine flu continues to spread across the United States — and most cases continue to be mild — federal health officials said Monday that they’re shifting their focus from individual cases of infection to trying to project what is likely to occur with the virus in the fall.

1639 confirmed cases of Swine Flu H1N1 virus.
2 Deaths
43 states have infections.
This is the hard news delivered by the normally conservative CDC today, Friday, May08 2009. The United States now has more H1N1 Swine Flu than any other country. The number of H1N1 Swine Flu virus infections in the United States doubled. Only mexico has more deaths from swine flu H1N1 Virus than the United States.

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The CDC is now estimating that the number of cases worldwide of H1N1 Swine flu could reach 1 billion cases by the summer. Normally, the summer is the time when influenza virii have the most problems reproducing and spreading, but apparently the H1N1 Swine Flu shares more traits than was previously thought with the 1918 Swine Flu H1N1 Pandemic. That Swine Flu strian was also more resistant to heat, and therefore was able to spread unabated during the summer months.

7 May 2009, 24 countries have officially reported 2371 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.

Mexico has reported 1112 laboratory confirmed human cases of infection, including 42 deaths. The United States has reported 896 laboratory confirmed human cases, including two deaths.

As of 7 May 2009, 18:00 GMT

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths – Austria (1), Canada (201), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Colombia (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), El Salvador (2), France (5), Germany (10), Guatemala (1), Ireland (1), Israel (6), Italy (5), Netherlands (2), New Zealand (5), Poland (1), Portugal (1), Republic of Korea (3), Spain (81), Sweden (1), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (32).

The fatality would mark the 3rd in North America outside the Mexican hot zone.

Reports emerged Thursday night that an elderly woman who had swine flu has died in northern Alberta.

It’s not clear whether she had any other underlying conditions.

CBC News put the question to Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert at 2:30 p.m. MT Thursday, and he stated then that he had no information about the case.

There are 214 confirmed cases of swine flu in Canada, including 33 in Alberta, the Public Health Agency of Canada says. Cases have been detected in every region except Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northern territories, with most cases found in B.C., Ontario, Nova Scotia and Alberta.

Almost all Canadian cases have been mild.

Worldwide, there are now 2,371 confirmed cases of swine flu in 24 countries, according to the World Health Organization. Forty-four people have died of the infection — 42 in Mexico and two in the United States.

On Thursday, Saskatchewan announced its first two cases of swine flu.

It seems logical: Why not try to get sick with swine flu now, and get some immunity in case it comes roaring back this fall in a deadlier form? Sort of like those “pox parties” to get your kids exposed to a childhood disease.

Bad idea, flu experts say. It’s too risky.

It’s true that once your body has encountered a particular virus strain, it is generally better able to fight it off later on. Vaccines work by masquerading as germs, priming the immune system to attack particular bugs.

The current swine flu appears no deadlier than ordinary flu, but scientists worry that it could return in a more lethal form during the regular flu season in fall and winter. That’s what happened in the deadly pandemic of 1918, and there’s evidence that people who got sick earlier that year had protection when the lethal wave came.

This new trend is questioned by one doctor, who warns that people cannot control the type of H1N1 Swine Flu infection they are likely to get.

“I understand the logic (but it) leads you astray,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a flu expert at Vanderbilt University.

He said there’s no way to predict how bad a case of flu will be in a particular person. Given the risk of life-threatening complications, “this is not something where you want to do a biological experiment,” he said.

“You can’t control the infection that you’re going to get, and you may be the one, or your child may be the one, that gets a severe infection.”

What’s more, a person who decides to get sick can accidentally pass it along to other, more vulnerable people, even before any symptoms show up, he said.

The United States has reported 403 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.

H1N1 Swine Flu Virus Cases Jump Quickly

The number of confirmed swine flu cases worldwide has increased to 1,490 with 30 deaths, most of them in Mexico, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. It marks an increase of 405 cases and four deaths since Monday.

These large, fast increases in H1N1 Virus cases and Swine Flu death counts are to be expected as the secondary and third waves of the H1N1 Swine Flu Virus begin their sweep across the world.

The latest CDC figures bring the number of confirmed worldwide cases to 853.

The World Health Organization reported 787 cases of swine flu, known to scientists as influenza A (H1N1), before the latest U.S. numbers. The WHO said the virus has been confirmed in 17 countries and has contributed to 20 deaths, 19 of them in Mexico.

New York has the most confirmed U.S. cases, with 63; Texas is second, with 40; and California is third, with 26. A Texas case — a Mexican toddler who was visiting relatives in the United States — is the only U.S. fatality.

The controversy is how dangerous the H1N1 Virus Swine Flu is: the mortality rate in Mexico continues to drop, where the number of confirmed cases wordlwide seems to be trending upwards at a fairly dramatic rate. The question is, will this trend upward allow for a quick enough mutation of the H1N1 Virus/Swine Flu that will increase the mortality rate? It seems its a race against time to create a vaccine and distribute it worldwide before the vaccine becomes worthless due to either the H1N1 virus being too widespread, or mutated too far to have any effect.

h1n1 virus shuts down mexico

Saturday : South Korea, Italy and the Irish Republic: most recent countries to confirm H1N1 Virus Swine Flu infections. In what may be a global first, Mexico has shut down for five days, starting may 1, to slow the spread of H1N1 Virus Swine flu. Only key services such as public transport, supermarkets and hospitals are being kept open.

President Obama talks extensively of the US Government plans for H1N1 Pandemic, as well as prevention of H1N1 virus/Swine flu, vaccination production plans, and H1N1 Virus treatments.

Mr. Obama said the government is distributing drugs that can defeat the current strain of H1N1.

“We began this week with 50 million courses of this treatment in the strategic national stockpile. Over the course of the last few days, we have delivered one-quarter of that stockpile to states, so that they are prepared to treat anyone who is infected with this virus,” he said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, I have also asked Congress for $1.5 billion, if it is needed, to purchase additional antivirals, emergency equipment, and the development of a vaccine that can prevent this virus as we prepare for the next flu season, in the fall,” he explained.