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Swine flu spreads to 73 countries with over 25,000 infected
Geneva (AFP) June 8, 2009 Swine flu has now spread to 73 countries with 25,288 people known to have been infected since the disease was first uncovered in April, data from the World Health Organisation showed Monday. The number of deaths rose to 139 after 14 more deaths were reported, according to the latest WHO tally of confirmed influenza A(H1N1) cases. Most of the new cases were reported by the United States, with 2,163 new infections, bringing its total caseload to 13,217, including 27 deaths. Australia also posted a significant rise of 175 cases, bringing its total to 1,051. Chile likewise saw its caseload grow by 42 to 411 in total. Flu experts are watching the situation in Australia and Chile carefully as they are part of the southern hemisphere which is entering the flu-prone winter season. Meanwhile, the Cayman Islands, Dominica and the United Arab Emirates reported a case each to the WHO for the first time. Trinidad and Tobago also joined the list of countries with infections, after reporting two new cases. Some affected countries no longer keep track of all cases according to the WHO, while others do not report daily. The WHO is now only updating its tally three times a week, rather than daily.
earlier related report In Chile, a 56-year-old man who died last week has been diagnosed as the country's second swine flu death, health authorities said. The man, who died early Wednesday in a hospital in the southern city of Osorno, suffered from obesity and heart disease. A test confirming the presence of the A(H1N1) virus "was positive," regional health secretary Bernardo Martorell told AFP. "The family and the public were informed today." As of Saturday, 890 cases of swine flu have been detected in Chile since the virus first emerged in Mexico in late April. Officials have been most concerned about monitoring cases of the outbreak in the southern hemisphere, which they believe could portend the severity of the disease when it returns to countries in the north during flu season in a few months' time. Nicaragua reported six new cases of swine flu, raising to 26 the total number of people infected with the A(H1N1) virus across the country, while Argentina reported 13 new confirmed cases. Managua's health minister Guillermo Gonzalez said cases of the illness are "appearing because we are actively looking for them," explaining the surge of the disease, which was first detected here just seven days ago. In Nicaragua, the swine flu virus has largely hit school-aged children, prompting the temporary closure of at least two schools. The latest rash of cases prompted brigades of health workers to descend on some 20,000 homes in a Managua neighborhood where the outbreak was spotted. Gonzalez said the majority of cases have been detected in people who visited countries where the disease has taken a firmer hold. That proved to be the case in Venezuela where three new swine flu cases were reported Sunday, bringing the total of those infected in the country to seven. According to Venezuelan health officials, the sick included a two-year-old girl, who had just returned from the United States. Authorities said the toddler was being treated at home in eastern Bolivar state and kept in isolation. So far there have been no deaths in Venezuela from the virus. Meanwhile, health officials in Uruguay reported three new cases of the virus, bringing the total to 25, while in Peru health officials confirmed 12 new cases, saying the total there now stands at 61. Twenty new A(H1N1) victims have been reported by health authorities in Guatemala, bringing the total of those infected in that Central American country to 50. Authorities in Argentina said that 13 new confirmed cases brings the total there to 215, and three-quarters of the country's cases have been in school-aged children. Officials in Buenos Aires said they are reviewing more than 800 suspected cases of the disease. The epidemic has spread to nearly 22,000 people around the world, claiming the lives of 125 people, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) tally. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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US Swine Flu Deaths Top 22: Mexico Toll Reaches 106Washington (AFP) June 4, 2009 The US swine flu death toll reached 22 as one death was reported late Thursday in the eastern state of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania death, as well as deaths in New York and Chicago reported late Wednesday, were not included in the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pennsylvania currently "has 269 confirmed cases and 101 probable cases of illness due to ... read more |
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