Cases of Swine Flu Diagnosed in Mexico and the United States

On April 24, 2009, Mexico reported it had 1,004 suspected cases of swine flu and 68 deaths from the disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, GA, USA), one of the few labs that can test for the new virus, has confirmed eight U.S. cases, as well as seven samples from Mexico. The World Health Organization (WHO; Geneva, Switzerland) has posted the DNA sequence of the virus, as well as information for diagnostic laboratories. CDC said that it has developed an improved polymerase chain reaction assay to detect the virus and will soon send it out to a network of 140 laboratories that work with the agency. CDC also has a team in Mexico assisting health officials there.

"If there's any appearance that things are not available to people, it's mainly because it's a new virus. We are making the reagents for it, and it's just a matter of time for us to get them out," said Daniel Jernigan, a medical epidemiologist in the influenza division. Dr. Jernigan added that CDC anticipates that those reagents will be available very soon.

Meanwhile, New York City is looking into possible swine flu cases, and the WHO has decided not to raise its pandemic threat level, although it did call the situation a "public health emergency of international concern."

Related Links:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The World Health Organization