H1N1 AS MAY 23, 2009

SOURCE >>> http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au

Warning as swine flu surges past 10,000 mark
May 23, 2009

GENEVA: The global swine flu caseload has reached the 10,000 mark and the crisis has escalated in Asia, despite stringent government efforts to contain the virus.

The number of confirmed swine flu cases now stands at 10,243 in 40 countries, with 80 deaths, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organisation, Fadela Chaib, said.

Much of the increase came from the US, where authorities raised their number of cases by 346 to 5469 in 47 states.

The number of confirmed A(H1N1) infections in Mexico, the source of the outbreak, rose by almost 100 in 24 hours to 3660, health officials said as they announced four deaths.

Officials say 76 people have died in Mexico, but not all the deaths have been registered by the World Health Organisation. As dozens more cases were reported in Japan, Taiwan became the latest Asian country to record a case of the virus on its soil - that of an Australian doctor who arrived by plane from Hong Kong earlier in the week. Australia, meanwhile, has several new cases.

The mounting crisis has overshadowed proceedings at WHO's annual assembly where the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, urged people to remain vigilant because experience had shown flu could start as a mild outbreak and then suddenly worsen. The WHO has already raised its alert level to five on a sliding scale of six, indicating that a fully fledged pandemic is imminent.

The outbreak spread to a third western region in Japan and experts warned it may have reached Tokyo which, with almost 36 million people, is the world's most populous urban area.

Face masks have become ubiquitous on buses, commuter trains and in shopping centres in affected areas in Japan, where 229 people have been infected.

Despite the concerns, Japan has eased quarantine measures.

"The new influenza has strong similarities to seasonal flu," the Health Minister, Yoichi Masuzoe, said. The virus was contagious but many people recovered without falling seriously ill and anti-flu drugs had proved effective, he said.
Warning as swine flu surges past 10,000 mark
May 23, 2009

GENEVA: The global swine flu caseload has reached the 10,000 mark and the crisis has escalated in Asia, despite stringent government efforts to contain the virus.

The number of confirmed swine flu cases now stands at 10,243 in 40 countries, with 80 deaths, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organisation, Fadela Chaib, said.

Much of the increase came from the US, where authorities raised their number of cases by 346 to 5469 in 47 states.

The number of confirmed A(H1N1) infections in Mexico, the source of the outbreak, rose by almost 100 in 24 hours to 3660, health officials said as they announced four deaths.

Officials say 76 people have died in Mexico, but not all the deaths have been registered by the World Health Organisation. As dozens more cases were reported in Japan, Taiwan became the latest Asian country to record a case of the virus on its soil - that of an Australian doctor who arrived by plane from Hong Kong earlier in the week. Australia, meanwhile, has several new cases.

The mounting crisis has overshadowed proceedings at WHO's annual assembly where the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, urged people to remain vigilant because experience had shown flu could start as a mild outbreak and then suddenly worsen. The WHO has already raised its alert level to five on a sliding scale of six, indicating that a fully fledged pandemic is imminent.

The outbreak spread to a third western region in Japan and experts warned it may have reached Tokyo which, with almost 36 million people, is the world's most populous urban area.

Face masks have become ubiquitous on buses, commuter trains and in shopping centres in affected areas in Japan, where 229 people have been infected.

Despite the concerns, Japan has eased quarantine measures.

"The new influenza has strong similarities to seasonal flu," the Health Minister, Yoichi Masuzoe, said. The virus was contagious but many people recovered without falling seriously ill and anti-flu drugs had proved effective, he said.