The number of swine flu cases in the US topped 10,000 on Monday and the virus spread to all 50 states, as Alaska reported its first (A)H1N1 infection, an official update showed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 10,053 probable or confirmed cases of swine flu in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, up from nearly 9,000 on Friday.
The CDC also linked two more deaths to the (A)H1N1 influenza virus, bringing the official death toll for the outbreak to 17, which does not include the first death from the disease reported by California state officials on Monday.
The US has the most cases of swine flu of any of more than 50 countries around the world.
Meanwhile, Australia’s swine flu tally soared again to nearly 500 confirmed cases yesterday, just a day after a sudden spike made it the Asia-Pacific region’s worst-affected country.
Victoria Health Minister Daniel Andrews said that 89 new cases had been identified in the state overnight, taking its total to 395. The national count now stands at 496, the fourth largest worldwide.
Australia had only one case of swine flu just a fortnight ago, but the numbers have grown exponentially since the controversial move to let infected passengers leave a luxury cruise-liner last week.
Carnival Australia yesterday warned that another of its vessels had been turned away from the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia because of possible flu cases among its passengers.
Samples from four or five of about 2,000 Dawn Princess passengers will be tested for swine flu before the vessel returns to Sydney on Friday.
In Mexico, Minister of Health Jose Angel Cordova said the government could lift its swine flu alert by the middle of this month, maintaining the death toll at 97 and raising the number of cases by more than 200 to 5,240.
The virus was still on the wane, Cordova said, underlining that the alert for A(H1N1) in the country at the epicenter of the virus could lift in two weeks’ time.
“If we see that cases are appearing only occasionally, then we’ll totally lift the alert,” Cordova said, though he still recommended the use of face masks in busy public places such as the metro.
In its latest report, the WHO said 62 countries had officially reported 17,410 cases of A(H1N1), including 115 deaths.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
RSS