Swine flu watch - April 30, 2009
All Nature’s swine flu coverage is collected on our news special page. These regular updates on The Great Beyond round up the latest from other news sources around the globe.
As the World Health Organisation raises the pandemic alert level to five, reports indicate the H1N1 virus may have reached Africa.
South Africa reported the continent’s first suspected cases on Wednesday (AFP, Die Burger). SA health ministry spokesman Fidel Hadebe told AFP that two women under investigation had recently returned from Mexico.
After yesterday’s suggestion from Israel’s deputy health minister that the outbreak should be renamed “Mexican flu”, the correct label is being much debated. The NY Times says that Thailand has adopted the Mexican flu moniker and US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has said, “This is not a food-borne illness, virus – it is not correct to refer to it as swine flu because really that’s not what this is about.”
AP notes that the US Department of Homeland Security “suggested the boring scientific route” of using H1N1. Of course, in Spanish the disease is ‘la gripe porcina’. The Knight Science Journalism Tracker has been rounding up Spanish coverage.
UPDATE: The WHO has thrown its hat into the name debate ring, with the following note on its website:
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According to a number of sources, email scammers have started trying to exploit swine/Mexican/H1N1 flu scare.
The first American victim of swine flu, reported yesterday, was a Mexican child visiting the US, according to the NY Times.
Image: WHO pandemic phases
