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.

This morning the World Health Organisation confirmed that over 5,000 swine flu cases have been reported. The number of countries reporting H1N1 has reached 33 and the death toll is now 61.

Confirmation of a second case in mainland China is raising fears of an Asian outbreak, reports Forbes.

The WHO is also warning countries to conserve anti-flu drugs for those patients most at risk. AP reports:

A WHO medical expert, Dr. Nikki Shindo, said the U.N. agency thinks antivirals should be targeted mainly at people already suffering from other diseases or complications — such as pregnancy — that can lower a body’s defences against flu.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said pregnant women in particular should take the drugs if they are diagnosed with swine flu — even though the effects on the foetus are not completely known.

In the Netherlands, the virus isolated from one infected person has an “intriguing mutation”, reports ScienceInsider. The change in the PB2 gene could make this version of the flu better at human-to-human transmission.

It could also be a red herring, says the blog.

Image Getty