Mapping out the Swine Flu Outbreak

Sw?ne flu has spread around the world at record speed.

Several web pages have ded?cated t?me and resources to keep you or?ented to where the sw?ne flu has mad an outbreak. Here ?s a web page tell?ng you wh?ch countr?es have detected, conf?rmed or suspected cases of sw?ne flu.

http://openflu.dyndns.org/locations/country

In th?s web page you w?ll be able to see what countr?es have detected sw?ne flu cases and how many, on a map form.

http://openflu.dyndns.org/locations/country_map/confirmed

Th?s l?nk w?ll enable you to f?nd lots of var?ous web pages w?th ?nformat?on about sw?ne flu and ?ts spread across the world.

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2009/04/swine-flu-outbreak-on-google-maps.html

None of the maps below are likely to help overcome the Swine Flu and most of the maps are far less accurate than the map created by John Snow made back in 1854. However these maps do give us a reasonable overall impression of how the outbreak is spreading.

The World Health Organization raised its alert level to f?ve - "one step short of declaring a pandemic", as reports of those affected or killed by the swine flu virus began to increase across the globe.

As of 4 May 2009, 20 countries have officially reported 985 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.

Mexico has reported 590 laboratory confirmed human cases of infection, including 25 deaths. The higher number of cases from Mexico reflects ongoing testing of previously collected specimens. The United States has reported 226 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (85), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Costa Rica (1), Colombia (1), Denmark (1), El Salvador (2), France (2), Germany (8), Ireland (1), Israel (3), Italy (1), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (4), Republic of Korea (1), Spain (40), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (15).

There is no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products.

It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness.

WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders.

There ?s no effective vaccine already available against the new influenza A(H1N1) virus, but work is already under way to develop such a vaccine. Influenza vaccines generally contain a dead or weakened form of a circulating virus. The vaccine prepares the body's immune system to defend against a true infection. For the vaccine to protect as well as possible, the virus in it should match the circulating "wild-type" virus relatively closely. Since this H1N1 virus is new, there is no vaccine currently available made with this particular virus. Making a completely new influenza vaccine can take five to six months.

As soon as the first human cases of new influenza A(H1N1) infection became known to WHO, the WHO Collaborating Center in Atlanta (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States of America) took immediate action and began the work to develop candidate vaccine viruses. WHO also initiated consultations with vaccine manufacturers worldwide to facilitate the availability of all necessary material to start production of influenza A(H1N1) vaccine. In parallel, WHO is working with national regulatory authorities to ensure that the new influenza A(H1N1) vaccine will meet all safety criteria and be made available as soon as possible.