Edmonton Sun: Swine flu on wane, but health officials anticipate comeback

Three months after Canadian scientists first became aware of a mysterious influenza outbreak in Mexico, the rate of new swine flu cases in this country finally seems to be ebbing.

But public health officials warn the virus will be back with a vengeance in the fall.

'We're still seeing new cases (but) it appears there are fewer,' Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer, said yesterday. 'We are seeing fewer people admitted to hospital, so it seems to be on the wane.'

But he added, 'It's an amazing, adaptive disease and it's always full of surprises.'

So full of surprises, apparently, that British officials this week projected a worst-case scenario of up to 65,000 deaths in the U.K. from H1N1. Their bleak assessment included an estimate that 30% of the population could become infected, and that half of British children could contract H1N1.

Edmonton Sun: Swine flu on wane, but health officials anticipate comeback