H1N1 virus

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Swine Flu Hits US Troops in Kuwait

First cases reported in the Gulf region

(Newser) - In the first appearance of swine flu in the Gulf region, 18 American soldiers have tested positive for the disease, reports the BBC. All affected troops have left Kuwait and received medical attention. The soldiers at the military base—a logistics outpost for troops serving in Iraq—did not come...

Mexico City Lifts Flu Restrictions

Alert level lowered after no new infections reported for a week

(Newser) - Mexico City has lifted all measures introduced to curb the spread of swine flu, and changed its alert status to the lowest level, the BBC reports. "We can calm down now," said Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, telling residents they no longer have to wear masks. No new cases of...

Feds: Older People Safer From Swine Flu

People born before 1957 found to carry anti-H1N1 antibodies

(Newser) - People born before 1957 appear to have some immunity to the H1N1 virus, the New York Times reports. Tests show that older adults have antibodies that attack the virus, probably because they've been exposed to a similar virus. Experts believe the swine flue virus, like seasonal influenzas before 1957, is...

Obese People Have More Flu Complications

In H1N1 patients, fat had same effects as diabetes, heart disease

(Newser) - Scientists at the CDC have noticed a new trend in cases of swine flu: "We were surprised by the frequency of obesity among the severe cases that we've been tracking," says an epidemiologist, adding that it might be cause to make obese people a priority for a...

NYC School Official Dies From Swine Flu

City faces new wave of crisis

(Newser) - An assistant principal in New York has become the sixth person to die from swine flu in the US, reports the New York Post. Mitchell Wiener, 55, fell ill more than week ago, but didn't seek medical help until his symptoms became severe, officials said. His school was shut last...

NYC Shuts 3 Schools in New Swine Flu Fear

Assistant principal critically ill with city's worst case of virus so far

(Newser) - New York City has closed three public schools where large numbers of student have become ill with flu-like symptoms, the New York Times reports. The assistant principal at one of the schools is in critical condition with the most serious case of swine flu the city has seen, though he...

Catch Swine Flu, Stay for Free: Mexican Hotels

Resorts try to lure back vacationers with promotion

(Newser) - Several Mexican resorts are offering free stays to tourists who catch swine flu while vacationing there, the Times of London reports. They hope to restore confidence in the sunny destination, which they say has been completely sanitized of the H1N1 virus. The hotel leading the promotion also slashed rates by...

Swine Flu Came From Lab: Researcher
Swine Flu Came From
Lab: Researcher
May 13, 2009 4:22 AM CDT

Swine Flu Came From Lab: Researcher

WHO investigates claim that H1N1 arose from human error

(Newser) - The World Health Organization is investigating a claim by an Australian researcher that the swine flu virus may have been created in a laboratory as a result of human error. Adrian Gibbs, who helped develop Tamiflu, said in an interview with Bloomberg that the new strain may have evolved in...

Many Mexico Schools Reopen
 Many Mexico Schools Reopen 
May 11, 2009 8:38 PM CDT

Many Mexico Schools Reopen

(Newser) - Millions of Mexican students are back at school this week as six of 31 states resume classes, the BBC reports. Parents and teachers spent days scrubbing down the schools with disinfectant, and many students are still wearing surgical masks as they return from their unexpected two-week break. Schools in 6...

H1N1 Expands, Kills Costa Rica Man

(Newser) - The US swine flu count hit 2,254 yesterday and a Costa Rica man died of the disease, the first fatality outside of North America, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the US, 3,000 people are likely infected across 45 states and Washington, DC, including unconfirmed cases, the Centers...

Flu Spreads, Kills US Man
 Flu Spreads, Kills US Man 
May 10, 2009 7:30 AM CDT

Flu Spreads, Kills US Man

Australia, Japan see cases

(Newser) - Health officials have confimed that a 30-year-old Washington state man died last week of the H1N1 flu strain, raising its US death toll to  three, Reuters reports. He had suffered from heart problems. The disease has now been found in some 2,200 Americans and has spread to Japan and...

UK Unravels Genetics of Euro Swine Flu Strain

Better understanding of virus 'significant step' toward vaccine

(Newser) - Researchers in the UK have mapped the complete genetic fingerprint of the strain of H1N1 virus affecting Europe, bringing scientists a step closer to creating a vaccine, the BBC reports. By comparing the blueprint with genetic data from the North American strain, experts hope to better understand how the virus...

Experts: Don't Blame Pigs for Swine Flu

H1N1 virus likely arose among jet-setting humans

(Newser) - The humble porker shouldn't be the one taking the blame for the H1N1 virus, scientists tell the Los Angeles Times. Pigs provided some of the raw material for the virus, experts say, but so did birds and humans. The most likely incubators and spreaders of the virus, according to scientists,...

Woman Becomes Canada's First Swine Flu Death

(Newser) - An Alberta woman is the first Canadian to die in connection with swine flu, though the province's heath chief said today she also had serious underlying medical conditions, the AP reports. A source told the Globe and Mail the woman, in her 30s, had asthma; she died April 28. Her...

Couples Find Love in Flu Hotel
 Couples Find Love in Flu Hotel 
May 8, 2009 3:48 AM CDT

Couples Find Love in Flu Hotel

Guests stuck in Hong Kong hotel party away last night of quarantine

(Newser) - Many of the hundreds of guests quarantined in Hong Kong's Metropark hotel shed their face masks to party away their final night in confinement yesterday, Reuters reports. The guests—who were initially outraged to learn they would be confined to the hotel for a week because of swine flu fears—...

Asia Unites Against Swine Flu Threat

Health ministers from 13 countries pledge increased cooperation

(Newser) - Health chiefs from 13 Asian countries met in Bangkok yesterday to hammer out a unified response to the H1N1 virus, Reuters reports. The ministers pledged to step up cross-border cooperation, establish joint response teams, and share essential supplies. A statement called for Asia to establish the capacity to produce vaccines,...

Flu-Phobic Consider Intentional Infection

(Newser) - With panic over the H1N1 flu virus on the wane, some Americans are pondering allowing themselves to become infected in hopes of building immunity against potentially more virulent strains, the New York Times reports. Doctors are split on the idea. "I think it's totally nuts," says a flu...

Seasonal Flu Strain May Have Mutated

Canadian researchers say H3N2 virus mutated from vaccine strain

(Newser) - A mutated version of the seasonal strain of flu targeted by this season's vaccine has surfaced in a traveler entering Canada from Mexico, Reuters reports. The development complicates the tracking of the virus in Mexico, which has suffered the majority of infections and deaths. The variant was previously found in...

Second US Flu Victim Gave Birth Last Week

Texas teacher's family mourns as deadly outbreak wanes

(Newser) - The Texas woman who died yesterday after suffering from swine flu was a teacher who gave birth to a healthy baby girl last week by Cesarean section, the AP reports. Judy Trunnell, 33, was hospitalized after she had difficulty breathing 2 weeks ago and later fell into a coma. Texas...

Afghanistan Quarantines Its Lone Pig

(Newser) - Kabul Zoo officials have locked up the only known pig in Afghanistan to allay visitors' fears that it might spread swine flu, Reuters reports. Pork is illegal in Afghanistan for religious reasons; the country’s lone porcine resident is a zoo animal. “For now, the pig is under quarantine,...

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