Influenza update

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization, or WHO (not the band, that would be the Who), raised the level of alert to Phase 5 out of 6 on the same day a Mexican child died of the disease on American soil (maybe that's the trigger: once someone dies on US soil, things are considered serious!)- Actually, according to TIME: "WHO says the phase 5 alert means there is sustained human to human spread in at least two countries".

from the NY Times:"By Wednesday afternoon, nine countries had confirmed cases of swine flu, the strain known as the H1N1 virus. Several European nations were making plans to regulate travel involving Mexico, where more than 150 people are suspected to have died and at least 2,400 are suspected to have been infected as a result of the swine flu"

It looks as though we are stuck with the name "Swine Flu" even though it's technically inaccurate, as, according to Reuters: "The virus spreading around the world should not be called "swine flu" as it contains avian and human components and no pig has so far been found ill with the disease, the world animal health body said on Monday.".