What is Swine Flu

April 30, 2009 saw 114 confirmed cases of swine flu in 10 U.S. states, prompting the Fort Worth to become the first major school district in the US to shutdown amid the virus scare.

The state of New Jersey stated today that they had confirmed 5 cases of swine flu in their state. Health officials are waiting to hear official word from other states, including Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Illinois, and Louisiana, as to test results from possible cases there.

With 49 confirmed cases, New York City leads the US in concentrated cases of swine flu. Elsewhere in the world, the European Union is considering a request from France (30 possible cases of swine flu) to suspend all flights to and from Mexico.

Tarwater Elementary and Hartford Sylvia Elementary School, both in the Chandler Elementary School District (South of Phoenix, AZ), became the most recent schools to announce closures in the face of the swine flu outbreak. Although public concern is great, details about the specifics of the situation where not being released immediately.

The number of confirmed swine flu cases in AZ now stands at 4, with some 40 suspected samples currently being tested for the deadly strain of H1N1 flu virus.

The outbreak of over 2,500 new swine flu cases has forced the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise the pandemic alert level to 5. A pandemic alert level of 5 denotes:

Phase 5 Human to Human: Widespread human-to-human spread of the swine flu in at least two countries. While most countries might not yet be affected, Phase 5 is a strong indicator that a pandemic is imminent.

Phase 5 alerts are issued after human-to-human infection is confirmed and after a virus is found to be well adapted to humans. As the virus spreads, a level 6 pandemic alert could mean widespread community-level outbreaks.

The first confirmed death from swine flu occurred April 29, 2009 in the boarder town of Brownsville, TX. The young boy was almost 2-years old according to health officials in Brownsville.

The boy, who was traveling with family from Mexico City to Texas, arrived in the US with what health officials called "underlying health issues." Some four days later, the toddler developed flu symptoms and was taken to a Brownsville hospital on April 13, 2009.

Health officials in the area are trying to trace the family's route while in the US, and determine how long exactly they were in the area. As of April 29, 2009, swine flu has killed more than 150 people around the world, leaving almost 2,500 ill in Mexico. US health officials today announced that they have confirmed 91 cases in 10 US states.

As with most flu's, swine flu symptoms include:

1) Runny Nose
2) Sore Throat
3) Diarrhea
4) Nausea
5) Vomiting
6) Coughing
7) Fever, lethargy and lack of appetite.

Where most flu strains attack the young and elderly especially hard, the swine flu has seen deaths among people 25-50 years in age. This strange occurrence might be contributed to a Cytokine Storm, a potentially fatal immune reaction.