Woman Becomes Canada's First Swine Flu Death

Sickest H1N1 patients deteriorate rapidly, studies say

(NEWSER) - Swine flu can turn from mild to critical extremely rapidly, with the sickest patients needing to be moved to intensive care only a day or so after being admitted to the hospital, new studies show. The worst cases have the potential to overwhelm health care facilities in the event of a widespread outbreak. "These people were not just a little bit ill," the leader of one study conducted this year says."They were spectacularly ill." More»

Canadian researchers say H3N2 virus mutated from vaccine strain

(NEWSER) - A mutated version of the seasonal strain of flu targeted by this season's vaccine has surfaced in a traveler entering Canada from Mexico, Reuters reports. The development complicates the tracking of the virus in Mexico, which has suffered the majority of infections and deaths. The variant was previously found in Canadian long-term care facilities, where it may have caused an unusually late flu outbreak in March. More»

(NEWSER) - Canadian officials quarantined a pig herd in Alberta today, saying a worker who had visited Mexico apparently infected the swine with H1N1, the Calgary Herald reports. But health officers are playing down what may be the first case of person infecting a pig with swine flu. “The chance that these pigs could transfer the virus to a person is remote," one said. More»

Officials had taken measures to stop spread

(NEWSER) - The H1N1 swine flu virus has reemerged in Egypt, infecting 1,172 people and killing 56 since Oct. 8, Reuters reports. Some 16,373 have been infected in the country, with 281 deaths, since it was first reported there in June 2009. Egyptian officials last year culled all pigs, shut schools, and stopped sick travelers at airports. Worldwide, 18,450 have died from the virus, says the World Health Organization. More»

Watchdogs accuse WHO of colluding with drugmakers

(NEWSER) - Was the H1N1 pandemic exaggerated? European officials are putting heat on the WHO over its handling of the pandemic, alleging the organization caused unnecessary panic and wasted millions of dollars. Reports released by an EU watchdog and the British Medical Journal go even further: they accuse the WHO of being influenced by drugmakers who stood to profit from unnecessary influenza preparation, the Washington Post reports. More»