U.S. confirms 226 A/H1N1 flu cases in 30 states

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A total of 226 human A/H1N1 flu cases have been confirmed in 30 U.S. states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Sunday.

The only person that has so far died of the H1N1 flu virus is a Mexican toddler who was visiting relatives in Texas, said the CDC.

According to the center, the State of New York has reported 63 confirmed cases of the H1N1, followed by 40 of Texas, 26 of California, 18 of Arizona and 15 of South Carolina.

The number of confirmed cases on Saturday was 160 in 21 states.

As of Friday, at least 430 schools in the United States had temporarily closed, while the CDC suggested more schools "should consider" sending students home if campuses have one or more cases of the new strain of influenza.

In his weekly radio address on Saturday, President Barack Obama told the public that his administration is confronting the epidemic's outbreak, vowing to take all necessary precautions in case the virus turn into "something worse."

The administration also continue its public relation campaign on Sunday by sending Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and acting CDC Director Richard E. Besser to all five major TV talk shows.

One confirmed, nine probable of A/H1N1 flu in Alabama

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HOUSTON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
on Saturday confirmed the first case of A/H1N1 flu in the State of Alabama.

The patient is a kindergartener at Heritage Elementary School in the city
of Madison, local public health officials said late in the evening.

Meanwhile, six new probable cases of A/H1N1 flu are identified on Saturday
in the state, including five students. That brings to 10 the number of confirmed
and probable cases so far in the state -- one in Jefferson County, one in
Montgomery and eight in the city of Madison.

Local public health officials were notified late Saturday afternoon that
the Jefferson County, the largest in Alabama, has detected its first probable
case of A/H1N1 flu. The patient is an adult man with a type of virus that is 95
percent likely to be A/H1N1 flu.

Other five probable cases identified on Saturday in Madison were all from
students, but increased from one to four the number of schools affected.
Officials said all the elementary schools in the city of Madison remain closed
until May 14.

Alabama has been identifying probable cases that it then sent to CDC for
confirmation. Officials say starting next week the state will be able to confirm
its own cases.

India still has one suspected influenza A/H1N1 case pending test results

Special Report:
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NEW DELHI, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Indian health authorities are testing the
saliva and blood samples of a 28-year-old man found with symptoms of A/H1N1
influenza virus after he arrived last weekend from the United States, reported
the private Indo-Asian News Service on Sunday.

The samples have been sent to the National Institute of Communicable
Diseases in New Delhi while the patient has been admitted to a hospital in
Hyderabad in central India, said the report quoting hospital sources.

The man, who is a software professor, arrived in Hyderabad on Saturday from
San Francisco via Dubai.

He was the second man to be found with suspected A/H1N1 influenza flu
symptoms in the central Indian city, after a 26-year-old man, who had landed in
Hyderabad from Texas last Tuesday, was tested negative of influenza A/H1N1 on
Saturday.

On Saturday, three other people who were suspected to have been infected
with A/H1N1 influenza virus and quarantined in New Delhi were tested negative,
said health officials.

Canada flu cases at 85, first human-to-animal infection reported

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OTTAWA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Canada on Saturday
announced a surge of confirmed H1N1 flu cases to 85 while the country reported
the globe's first human-to-animal infections.

More than 200 pigs on a farm in the western province
of Alberta have been infected with the new flu, the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency said Saturday at a press conference in Ottawa.

Federal officials believe the animals contracted the
virus from a Canadian worker who returned from Mexico on April 12 and arrived on
the farm two days later, showing flu symptoms shortly thereafter, said Brian
Evans, Canada's chief veterinary officer, at the news conference.

Both the worker and the approximately 220 infected
pigs are recovering, but the animals have been quarantined to prevent possible
transfer to humans, said Evans.

He stressed that "the chance that these pigs could
transfer the virus to a person is remote. Nevertheless, we're following an
appropriately measured approach."

He assured that "consumption of pork is not
considered a route of transmission to humans," urging other countries not to ban
Canadian pork.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed human cases of the
flu in Canada jumped to 85 on Saturday, with 34 new cases reported.

Nova Scotia reported 17 new cases, adding the total
to 34 to become the province with the most cases in the country. Among these,
six are not from the private high school that first reported the outbreak,
raising concerns that the flu may be spreading quickly in the province.

Ontario reported one case of human-to-human infection
within Canada, adding such cases to 9 in the country.

All the patients are experiencing mild symptoms and
there have been no deaths in Canada.

Health officials urged residents to continue to do
daily activities as normal. "It is safe to go to school, work and socialize, as
long as you do not have any symptoms," chief medical officer Robert Strong of
Nova Scotia said.

The federal government, which has decided to hold a
daily briefing when warranted, ran advertisements in newspapers across the
country on Saturday, calling for calm and more public awareness of the flu
outbreak. Officials urge Canadians to continue regular hand washing to avoid
infection.

Scientists at the National Microbiology Laboratory have begun full genome sequencing of the flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, Dr. David Butler-Jones, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, said Saturday in a news conference.

WHO says raise to pandemic alert Phase 6 still possible

GENEVA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that the risk of a pandemic caused by the A/H1N1 virus is still very high and there is still the possibility to raise the alert level to Phase 6 from the current Phase 5.

"At the present time, I would still propose that a pandemic is imminent because we are seeing the disease spread," Michael Ryan, the agency's director for global alert and response, told a news briefing in Geneva. Full story

Mexico's flu death toll rises to 19

MEXICO CITY, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's confirmed flu death toll has risen to 19 on Saturday and another 454 people confirmed infected, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said.

The minister urged citizens to remain vigilant and not to let their guard down against the virus. Full story

WHO's tally of A/H1N1 cases rises to 615

GENEVA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The total number of laboratory confirmed A/H1N1 flu infections worldwide has risen to 615 with 17 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a latest update on Saturday.

A total of 15 countries and regions have officially reported laboratory confirmed cases to the UN agency, including Mexico, whose confirmed number of human cases has increased to 397, including 16 deaths. Full story

WTO: Antiviral drugs being sent to 72 developing countries

GENEVA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it was sending more than 2 million treatment courses of antiviral drugs to 72 developing countries to help them prepare for a possible pandemic caused by the spreading A/H1N1 virus.

"We've begun to dispatch 2.4 million treatment courses of antivirals to 72 countries including Mexico," said Michael Ryan, WHO's director for global alert and response. Full story

Pigs infected with A/H1N1 flu in Canada

OTTAWA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Some pigs in Canada have been found to be infected with the A/H1N1 flu, Canadian media reported Saturday citing government sources.

This has been the first time that the H1N1 flu virus has been found in pigs, the Canadian Press said, adding federal health officials will announce the news later Saturday.

The pigs are from a farm in the western province of Alberta, they were thought to be infected by a farm worker who had recently been to Mexico and fell ill upon his return, the sources said.

Genetic testing shows the pigs in Alberta were infected with the same virus responsible for cases in Mexico and other countries around the world.

Official confirmation of the pigs' infection is expected at a news conference scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Ottawa.

The H1N1 virus, which is made up of swine flu genes, is believed to have jumped to humans and has been passing person to person.

Earlier this week, the World Health Organization dropped the term "swine flu" in favor of its scientific name "H1N1 influenza A."

Meanwhile, Canada's H1N1 flu caseload swelled Saturday as health officials confirmed a host of new cases in several provinces.

The total now stands at 83. All cases are mild and there have been no deaths. 

Mexico's confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu rise to 443

MEXICO CITY, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said on Saturday that until Friday night there have been 1,105 tests to detect the influenza A/H1N1, among which 443 in the country were positive.

People wear surgical masks in Mexico city, May 3, 2009. Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said on Saturday that until Friday night there have been 1,105 tests to detect the influenza A/H1N1, among which 443 in the country were positive.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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Out of the positive cases 427 patients are alive,
while 16 died. Among the total of the deaths, 12 were women.

Cordova said that the suspicious deathly cases
related to flu, known last week, eight were discarded because they were negative
at the lab tests and 135 were positive but of seasonal flu.

Cordova said that the health caravans have made
12,500 preventive actions out of a total of 39,011 in three days. In that period
13 people were told to go to hospitals in Mexico City, adding that on Saturday
there were 600 more tests to patients with human flu symptoms.

Cordova denied that there are not enough treatments
and said that his ministry has sent 200,000 dosages to the States of Mexico and
200,000 to health institutes in the city. He said that the problem is with the
medicine distribution.