Key developments on swine flu outbreaks, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and government officials:
Key developments on swine flu outbreaks, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and government officials: —Deaths: 45 in Mexico and two in the U.S., both in Texas. One of those who died in the U.S. was a toddler from Mexico. —Confirmed cases: More than 3,100 worldwide in 24 countries, including more than 1,100 in Mexico, at least 1,639 in the United States and 214 in Canada. —WHO says up to two billion people could be infected by swine flu if the outbreak turns into a pandemic over months or years. But WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda says it’s too early to tell how widespread or severe the outbreak will become. —Hong Kong lifts its weeklong quarantine on a downtown hotel where a Mexican swine flu patient stayed, releasing some 280 guests and employees who had been isolated in the building. —Mexican swine flu patient who prompted a quarantine at Hong Kong’s Metropark Hotel is released from the hospital after a weeklong stay. —High schools, universities, dance halls, movie theaters and bars have reopened across Mexico. Primary schools will reopen next week. —The WHO reports two new human cases of bird flu on Wednesday. One patient is recovering in Egypt while another died in Vietnam — a reminder that the H5N1 virus is far from gone. —CDC says only about 10 percent of Americans with swine flu are believed to have gotten it during trips to Mexico. Over the weekend, the agency said about a third of the U.S. cases were people who had been to Mexico, where the outbreak began. —Diplomats and officials say WHO intends to shorten its annual meeting in Geneva later this month because health ministries around the world are busy with the outbreak. ______ Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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