Swine Flu Shot

Health officials report that if production and testing continue on schedule, a swine flu shot could be ready by this October.

With more than 13,000 confirmed cases in the U.S. which have resulted in 27 deaths, a vaccine is anxiously awaited. The number of cases continues to rise and will continue to do so until a shot has been created. As discussed previously, while there the current outbreak has not be particularly deadly, researchers are concerned that this winter, when flu viruses can spread much more quickly, swine flu could become a serious problem.


The CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat said that her agency has been providing samples of the virus to drug makers and will monitor the progress of their work over the coming weeks.

U.S. passes Mexico in Confirmed Cases

In the U.S., according to the CDC, there have 4,298 cases in 47 states with 3 deaths (AK, WY, WV, MS are the only states with any cases). This total passes Mexico's confirmed cases count of 2,446 and is more than half of the total confirmed cases across the world (7,520).

U.S. 4,298
Mexico 2,446
Canada 389
Costa Rica 8

Argentina 1
Australia 1
Austria 1
Brazil 8
China 4
Colombia 7
Costa Rica 8
Cuba 1
Denmark 1
El Salvador 4
Finland 2
France 14
Germany 12
Guatemala 3
Ireland 1
Israel 7
Italy 9
Japan 4
Netherlands 3
New Zealand 7
Norway 2
Panama 29
Poland 1
Portugal 1
Republic of Korea 3
Spain 100
Sweden 2
Switzerland 1
Thailand 2
United Kingdom 71

By State:

Alabama 9
Arizona 187
California 221
Colorado 44
Connecticut 33
Delaware 54
Florida 58
Georgia 8
Hawaii 6
Idaho 3
Illinois 592
Indiana 70
Iowa 55
Kansas 23
Kentucky 10
Louisiana 33
Maine 6
Maryland 23
Massachusetts 107
Michigan 134
Minnesota 31
Missouri 18
Montana 1
Nebraska 21
Nevada 21
New Hampshire 17
New Jersey 8
New Mexico 44
New York 211
North Carolina 12
Ohio 11
Oklahoma 22
Oregon 74
Pennsylvania 22
Rhode Island 7
South Carolina 32
South Dakota 3
Tennessee 57
Texas 293 (2 deaths)
Utah 72
Vermont 1
Virginia 17
Washington 176 (1 death)
Washington, D.C. 9
Wisconsin 496

CDC Map of Confirmed Cases

The CDC has created a map of the swine flu / H1N1 confirmed cases in the U.S.



http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm

HHS and CDC Webcast

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is hosting a webcast to answer questions on H1N1 / swine flu / #swineflu. They're joined by Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rich Besser.

Links and Stats from CDC's Investigation

The CDC has posted a page about their ongoing Swine Flu investigation.

Confirmed cases as of April 26, 2009 9:00 AM ET:

• California - 7
  
• Kansas - 2
  
• New York City - 8
  
• Ohio - 1
  
• Texas - 2
  
• Total U.S. Count - 20
  

Some good news is that, according to the CDC, lab tests have shown that the swine flu virus (H1N1) does respond to antiviral drugs oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza).

What is swine flu ?

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza that regularly cause outbreaks of influenza among pigs. Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans, however, human infections with swine flu do occur, and cases of human-to-human spread of swine flu viruses has been documented. See General Information about Swine Flu.

From December 2005 through February 2009, a total of 12 human infections with swine influenza were reported from 10 states in the United States. Since March 2009, a number of confirmed human cases of a new strain of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in the U.S. and internationally have been identified. An investigation into these cases is ongoing. For more information see Human Swine Flu Investigation.

(from U.S. CDC)