Costa Rica
Reports First Swine Flu Death
Seven
Other Confirmed Cases of Swine Flu Out of
Danger
Flu Continues
to Expand Reach
Family Court Judges Ordered To Provide
Shelter Information To Battered Women
Flu Continues
to Expand Reach
The number of
confirmed H1N1 influenza cases climbed to
2,254 in 44 states and Washington, D.C., the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
said Saturday. In Costa Rica, the
first death outside North America was
reported.
Japan and Australia announce their first
cases of the new H1N1 flu.
In Mexico, the centre of the outbreak, 48
people with swine flu have died, most of the
victims have been adults aged 20 to 49, and
many had no reported complicating factors.
Elsewhere, five others have died while
infected with the virus, including the two
fatalities reported Saturday, but each of
them had additional health issues. People
with chronic illnesses usually are at
greatest risk for severe problems from flu,
along with the elderly and young children.
The World Health Organization said in a
posting to its Web site Saturday that 29
countries have reported 3,440 cases of H1N1
infection. The organization has said it
doesn't see evidence of sustained
person-to-person transmission of the new
influenza virus outside North America, which
would be needed for the agency to declare a
pandemic.
In Japan, authorities quarantined a high
school teacher and two teenage students who
returned Friday from a school trip to Canada
after they tested positive at the airport.
Australia and Panama joined the list of
countries with confirmed cases of swine flu.
In Washington state, health officials said a
man in his 30s had underlying heart
conditions and viral pneumonia when he died
Thursday from what appeared to be
complications from swine flu. The state
Department of Health said in a release
Saturday that swine flu was considered a
factor in his death.
"We're working with local and federal
partners to track this outbreak," said
Washington State Secretary of Health Mary
Selecky. "We urge people to take this
outbreak, and the seasonal flu we see every
year, very seriously."
Mexico, which raised its count of confirmed
cases to 1,626 based on tests of earlier
patients, continued to gradually lift a
nationwide shutdown of schools, businesses,
churches and soccer stadiums.
But an upswing in suspected — though not
confirmed — cases in parts of Mexico
prompted authorities in at least six of the
country's 31 states to delay plans to let
primary school students return to class on
Monday after a two-week break.
"It has been very stable ... except for
those states," Health Department spokesman
Carlos Olmos said, referring to states in
central and southern Mexico.
Mexican health authorities released a
breakdown of the first 45 of the country's
48 flu deaths that showed that 84 percent of
the victims were between the ages of 20 and
54. Only 2.2 percent were immune-depressed,
and none had a previous history of
respiratory disease.
In Canada, officials said almost 500 hogs
quarantined on an Alberta farm after being
diagnosed with swine flu had been killed
because animals were becoming overcrowded
since the facility was barred from shipping
any to market.
"They were not culled for being sick. They
were culled because of animal welfare
concerns," Dr. Gerald Hauer, the province's
chief veterinarian, told reporters. He said
about 1,700 pigs remained on the farm.
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