H1N1 Swine Flu Latest Death Toll Rises To 91 US Soldiers Infected With H1N1 US Will Spend 1 Billion on H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine

The H1N1 Swine Flu death toll rose to 91 deaths and 11,168 cases of infection, though the WHO data shows 86 deaths and 12022 cases. In brighter news, the US Governemtn has now decided it will indeed pay for the development of a Swine Flu H1N1 vaccine. Experts are concerned about a second wave of the H1N1 Swine flu virus thta may return to the hardest hit part of the world, North America, in the Fall.

Eighteen U.S. soldiers have been confirmed as the first cases in Kuwait with H1N1 flu, the undersecretary of the ministry of health said on Sunday.

“They are 18 U.S. soldiers that were confirmed with the virus upon their arrival from their country to the military base (in Kuwait),” Ibrahim al-Abdulhadi told Reuters.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Friday the U.S. will spend $1 billion to start the process of making an H1N1 influenza vaccine.

The money, which comes from funds already set aside for pandemic influenza, will fund new and existing contracts with influenza vaccine makers such as Sanofi Aventis SA, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis.

·The number of deaths caused by A/H1N1 virus has risen to 91, health officials said.
·More than 11,168 people in 44 countries and regions have reportedly contracted the virus.

H1N1 Swine Flu Warnings In New York Serious H1N1 Swine Flu Case In NY School Closures

New York city has reported it’s first serious case of the Swine Flu H1N1 Virus, but the number of infections in the laregst city in the US has been increaisng at an alarming rate. New school closures are causing residents to become more nervous, and the Mayor of New York admits that the stories of H1N1 swine flu infection are “troubling”, and says that H1N1 Swine flu infection rates in New York are at “unusually high levels”. New York is potentially a prime candidate as a starting point for a pandemic wave of the H1N1 Swine flu. The combination of high population density, ability of the residents to leave, thereby dispersing the infections outward, and areas of poverty with limited access to doctors or medical facilities make it a breeding ground of a pandemic-like spread of H1N1 Swine Flu.

New York City closed three public schools for at least five school days because of “unusually high levels” of flu-like illness, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

“I know that many will find this information troubling, but information I’ve always thought is the best antidote to anxiety and we will continue to provide New Yorkers with clear, accurate and timely information as we have it,” Bloomberg said last night at a City Hall news conference, where he was joined by Governor David Paterson and city schools Chancellor Joel Klein. “By taking common sense precautions and not by overreacting we will get through this together.”

The male assistant principal at Intermediate School 238 in Jamaica, in the city borough of Queens, where more than 50 students have been sent home ill, may have had a pre-existing condition that worsened his illness, Bloomberg said.

Peru confirmed its first case of H1N1 Swine Flu, a 27-year-old woman who traveled to her Lima home from New York, Health Minister Oscar Ugarte said yesterday. Measures such as total shutdown and Social Distancing may not be as viable for containing H1N1 Swine Flu infection in New York as they were in Mexico – and this has the New York school system acting quickly to close down schools immediately.

School Closures

In addition to IS 238, or the Susan B. Anthony School, the schools shut in New York yesterday are Public School 16Q in Corona, Queens, where 29 students were documented with flu-like symptoms, and IS 5Q, the Walter Crowley Intermediate School in Elmhurst, Queens, where 241 students were reported absent.

“We have been carefully monitoring the H1N1 virus, and we’re taking this action today because there are unusually high levels of flu-like illnesses at three public schools,” Bloomberg said yesterday.

A total of 4,500 students attend the three schools. The earliest date the schools may reopen is May 22 under the order put in place after health officials discovered the influenza symptoms. Bloomberg said swine flu has been documented in the assistant principal and four students.

H1N1 Swine Flu Cases Top 5000 While CDC and WHO Concerns Center On Second Wave Pandemic Fears

Swine FLu H1N1 News - H1N1 Swine Flu Cases Top 5000

The number of H1N1 Swine Flu infections continues to rise, and despite the recent cooling on the pandemic panic, WHO and CDC researchers are still concerned about the possibility of mutations in the H1N1 Swine Flu Virus that could lead to secondary waves culminating in a pandemic.

The number of worldwide swine flu cases on Tuesday passed 5,000, according to the World Health Organisation, as the virus spread to three more countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

The highest number of cases has been reported in the United States with 2,600 infections, including three deaths, and Mexico with 2,059 cases, including 56 deaths. The global total stood at 5,251, the latest data posted on the WHO website showed.

The WHO raised its alert to five on a scale of six two weeks ago, signalling that a pandemic was “imminent” after Mexico and the United States showed sustained local transmission of the influenza A(H1N1) virus.

With the WHO confirmed death toll at 61, Costa Rica reported its first fatality from the flu — believed to be a mix of bird and human flu which came together in pigs — and the United States confirmed a third death.

Latest H1N1 Swine Flu Updates Maps And Statistics

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

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

As of 06:00 GMT, 6 May 2009, 22 countries have officially reported 1516 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.
The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths – Austria (1), Canada (165), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Colombia (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), El Salvador (2), France (4), Germany (9), Guatemala (1), Ireland (1), Israel (4), Italy (5), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (6), Portugal (1), Republic of Korea (2), Spain (57), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (27).

First US Death From H1N1 Swine Flu

The first ever US resident has died of Swine Flu H1N1 Virus, said health authorities in Texas this afternoon.

In a statement, the Texas Department of State Health services said it was “reporting the first death of a Texas resident with H1N1 [swine] flu.

“A woman from Cameron County who had chronic underlying health conditions died earlier this week,” it said.

It is the second swine flu fatality outside Mexico, after a Mexican toddler died of the virus in the US in April.

Swine Flu H1N1 experts and health authorities predict that every state in the US will has some cases and that its possible for fatalities to grow quickly as secondary waves of the H1N1 Swine Flu return from the southern hemisphere, which is just entering its main flu season.

21 countries
1490 cases h1n1 swine flu

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths – Austria (1), Canada (140), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Colombia (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) and the United Kingdom (27).