Developments on swine flu worldwide

The Associated Press
Monday, May 18, 2009 11:56 AM

-- Key developments on swine flu outbreaks, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and government officials:

_Deaths: Global total of 76 _ 68 in Mexico, six in U.S., one in Canada and one in Costa Rica. Officials said victims from Canada, U.S. and Costa Rica also had other medical conditions.

_Confirmed cases: WHO says 40 countries have reported more than 8,829 cases, mostly in U.S. and Mexico.

_CDC says 46 U.S. states plus District of Columbia have combined 5,123 confirmed and probable cases. Most probable cases are eventually confirmed.

_The World Health Organization opens its annual meeting in Geneva amid concern that swine flu continues to spread around the world.

_WHO chief says she is not raising the world swine flu alert level yet.

_Britain, Japan, China and other nations urge the WHO to change the way it decides to declare a pandemic, saying the agency must consider how deadly the virus is, not just how fast it is spreading.

_A high school assistant principal has become the first New York City death linked to the outbreak. He had been sick for nearly a week before his school was closed on Thursday.

_A wave of new confirmations sends the number of swine flu cases in Japan soaring to 135, health officials say, prompting the government to order the closure of nearly 2,000 schools and the cancellation of community events.

_South Korea quarantines a Vietnamese traveler after preliminary tests show she probably has swine flu.

___

On the Net:

CDC:http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu WHO: http://sn.im/who-flu