More Cases Expected in U.S. and Worldwide; Schools Closed in Fort Worth, Texas By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

April 30, 2009 — Swine flu cases continue to grow in the U.S. and other countries, as the world watches to see if swine flu will become a pandemic.

Swine flu has sickened at least 109 people in the U.S. and at least 257 people worldwide, according to the CDC and the World Health Organization. 

Swine Flu Outbreak: Get the Facts

Get the latest swine flu information from WebMD and the CDC, plus other facts you need to know.

Swine Flu CenterVideo: Swine Flu PrecautionsSwine Flu SymptomsWhat Is a Pandemic?CDC Swine Flu UpdatesState-by-State InformationWorld Health OrganizationWhat People Are AskingOur experts answer your swine flu questions.Talk with others about swine flu.

Swine Flu Slideshow

Like people, pigs can get influenza (flu), but swine flu viruses aren’t the same as human flu viruses. View the slideshow.

© 2009 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

Here is the CDC’s latest tally of lab-confirmed human cases of swine flu infection in the U.S.:

New York: 50 casesTexas: 26 cases (including one death reported yesterday)California: 14 casesSouth Carolina: 10 casesKansas: 2 casesMassachusetts: 2 casesArizona: 1 caseIndiana: 1 caseMichigan: 1 caseNevada: 1 caseOhio: 1 case

One more case has been confirmed in Georgia by state health officials. That case isn’t included in today’s CDC list.

The CDC updates its swine flu case list once daily, and cases confirmed by state or local health officials after that daily deadline get added to the official tally the following day.

More cases are expected, and so are more deaths from swine flu, Richard Besser, MD, the CDC’s acting director, said today at a news conference.

Here is the World Health Organization’s latest list of confirmed cases:

U.S.: 109 cases (including one death)Mexico: 97 cases (including seven deaths)Canada: 19 casesSpain: 13 casesU.K.: 8 casesGermany: 3 casesNew Zealand: 3 casesIsrael: 2 casesAustria: 1 caseNetherlands: 1 caseSwitzerland: 1 case

Swine Flu School Closings

Swine flu today prompted Fort Worth, Texas, to temporarily close all of its public schools until May 11 at the earliest, after swine flu was confirmed in one student and three other students have “probable” swine flu, according to Fort Worth’s school district.

Other school closings could happen, and health officials have repeatedly recommended that parents plan ahead for what they would do if their child’s school temporarily closed due to swine flu.

Different communities will likely take different actions to respond to swine flu, and “that’s a good thing,” Besser said today.

For instance, Besser noted reports that Texas has had broader school closures than other states. “We’ll look to see what was the impact of that… was that an effective strategy,” said Besser, who referred to the swine flu virus as the “H1N1 virus.”

Reporter Salynn Boyles contributed to this report.

Get Cold & Flu Alerts

In-depth medical advice and up to the minute news on cold and flu season. Get WebMD’s Cold and Flu Alerts.

webmd.com

 Post in Health