Chicago school forbids students shaking hands

CHICAGO (AP) - Concern about a deadly strain of swine flu has prompted one Chicago school in a largely Hispanic neighborhood to forbid students from shaking hands.

Orozco Community Academy Principal Coralia Barraza also says when parents call to say their children are home sick, school officials are being told to ask more questions about the illness than they typically do.

WREX.com: School taking steps to fight swine flu

AP: WHO raises pandemic flu alert level to phase 4

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico says the World Health Organization has raised its pandemic alert for swine flu by one level, two steps short of declaring a full-blown pandemic

Mexico health department spokesman Carlos Olmos confirms the move.

WHO says the phase 4 alert means sustained human to human transmission causing outbreaks in at least one country. It signals a significant increase in the risk of a global epidemic, but doesn't mean a pandemic is inevitable.

Associated Press: WHO raises pandemic flu alert level to phase 4

AFP: First two cases of swine flu in Britain confirmed by health minister

LONDON (AFP) — Two people admitted to a Scottish hospital after travelling to Mexico have been confirmed as the first cases of swine flu in Britain, Scottish Health Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Monday.

'I can confirm that tests have demonstrated conclusively that the two Scottish cases of swine flu are positive,' she said, adding that the two confirmed patients were recovering quickly.

'I am pleased to say that both individuals are recovering well in hospital.'

AFP: First two cases of swine flu in Britain confirmed by health minister

The Irish Times: WHO considers raising alert level

The World Health Organisation could raise its pandemic alert level as a deadly swine flu outbreak spreads from continent to continent, a spokesman said today.

Gregory Hartl, speaking on a media teleconference as an emergency committee of experts met in Geneva to review the pandemic alert level, also said work to produce a vaccine against the virus had begun.

The current WHO phase of pandemic alert is 3.

The Irish Times: WHO considers raising alert level

Bloomberg: BA, Air China, AMR Fall on Concern Over Swine Flu

Bloomberg: "British Airways Plc fell the most since 2001 and Air China Ltd. had the biggest drop in six months as airline stocks worldwide tumbled on concern that an outbreak of swine flu in Mexico will depress travel demand."

British Airways, Air China, AMR Fall on Concern Over Swine Flu - Bloomberg.com

Evening Standard: Killer flu: don't fly to the United States

"Britons were urged today not to go to the United States or Mexico amid fears that a virulent strain of swine flu could spark a global crisis.

European authorities advised against any 'non-essential travel' after an emergency meeting of health officials."

Evening Standard: Killer flu: don't fly to the United States

Telegraph: Spain confirms first case in Europe

Madrid - A 23-year-old man who returned from a trip to Mexico last week was found to have the virus, according to a statement released by Spain's Health Ministry on Monday morning.

The man was put under observation on Saturday after complaining of chest problems, the minister of health, Trinidad Jimenez, told a hastily convened news conference.

Telegraph - Swine flu: Spain confirms first case in Europe

HealthMap | Global disease alert map

HealthMap | Global disease alert map

Wall Street Journal: US Stock drops on swine flu worries

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--U.S. stock futures dropped on Monday as the outbreak of deadly swine flu stirred up worries that a possible recovery in the global economy could be derailed.

S&P 500 futures slumped 13.5 points to 853.10 and Nasdaq futures fell 21.5 points to 1353.50. Dow industrials futures fell 116 points.

Though U.S. stocks closed Friday's session with gains, stocks dropped on a weekly basis after six straight gains.

But the deadly swine-flu outbreak took center stage on Monday as the disease has killed 103 people in Mexico and virtually shut down Mexico City on Sunday. The market fear in particular is that the disease reportedly is being transmitted from human to human, unlike bird flu which was transmitted only from animals to humans."

WSJ.com: BEFORE THE BELL: US Stk Futures Dn On Swine Flu Worries

H1N1 Swine Flu Timemap

Here is a timemap of H1N1 Swine Flu, created from the RSS feed for the H1N1 Swine Flu Google Map.
The visualisation was created by Rod Page, using Nick Rabinowitz's TimeMap library.

H1N1 Swine Flu Timemap

Bloomberg: Swine Flu Outbreak Spurs Asia to Screen Travelers

Bloomberg: The swine-flu outbreak extended beyond Mexico and the U.S., prompting concern of a pandemic and forcing Asian countries to screen travelers.

Six people in Canada contracted swine flu and more cases are likely, government officials said. New Zealand said as many as 13 students who recently visited Mexico may have swine flu."

Swine Flu Outbreak Spurs Asia to Screen Travelers (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

Preventing Pandemics through Vaccination: A Look into the Past

Here is a summary-excerpt of a Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Case Study entitled, “Swine Flu: Analogies from the Past.” The main question it asks is, How to prevent pandemics through vaccination?

• Spanish Flu 1918: The great pandemic of 1918 countered one tenet after another of what many perceived were basic features shared by all previous pandemics.
o It struck much faster than was normal with an unprecedented mortality rate.
o Apparently healthy people showed the full set of symptoms in an hour.
o Disease raced through communities at a phenomenal rate – worldwide it killed over twice as many people as was killed in combat in WWI (over 20 million lives including 50K in the US alone)
o Pandemic hit in three separate waves in less than a year with the second wave being the most deadly.
o Pigs also suffered from Spanish flu – thus the name swine flu. An Iowa veterinarian, J.S. Koen, noted that pigs and people would both pick up the virus.

Preventing Pandemics through Vaccination: A Look into the Past

KESQ.com Palm Springs - Two People Tested for Swine Flu in Palm Springs

RIVERSIDE - No cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Riverside County, but two people who returned from Mexico had flu-like symptoms and were tested at a hospital in Palm Springs, with results pending, public health officials said today.

KESQ.com Palm Springs - Two People Tested for Swine Flu in Palm Springs