May
This week there has been an Swine Flu outbreak in New York City, which has closed down three schools in the Queens area for a week.
On Thursday hundreds of children were sent home with flu symptoms. Assistant Principal Mitchell Wiener is hospitalized with severe flu symptoms. Over 4,000 students are affected by the school closings.
The H1N1 flu, known as swine flu, has killed 65 people — including 60 in Mexico — and infected nearly 6,500 people in 33 countries, according to the World Health Organization.
On Thursday an Arizona woman died from the Swine Flu. Like other deaths here in the U.S. she had underlying health problems with a lung disease.
Common seasonal flu kills up to 500,000 people a year worldwide so there is no epidemic or pandemic however health professionals are concerned about what may happen in the fall.
The summer heat tends to neutralize the virus which is likely why there have not been more deaths.
Tags: Swine Flu, Swine Flu Epidemic, World Health Organization
