Nearly 10,000 cases of swine flu have been confirmed in 40 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. The WHO said 79 people are known to have died from the new virus.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon told the World Health Assembly that "global solidarity" was needed, particularly regarding distributing any vaccine. Some medical charities have suggested that the large vaccine orders already placed by wealthy countries will mean there will not be enough for everyone.
The WHO says the global tally of swine flu cases stands at 9,830, after rising by 1,001 in one day.
Most of the new flu victims were in Mexico, which reported some 545 cases, and the U.S., where 409 new cases were confirmed. There were also 34 new cases in Japan. Five new deaths have also been reported - four in Mexico and one in the United States.
Earlier this month expert projections suggested that a third of the world's population could be infected with swine flu. Researchers say swine flu has "full pandemic potential", spreading readily between people and is likely to go global in the next six to nine months.
On April 27th a 23-month-old Mexican child died in Texas and became the first death from swine flu outside of Mexico, where the outbreak originated. The boy had been visiting relatives in Texas when he fell ill. He had arrived in the Texan border city of Brownsville on April 4th and developed flu symptoms four days later, the Texas Department of State Health Services said. He was later transferred to a hospital in Houston, where he died.
Speaking in Washington, President Barrack Obama offered his condolences and said the federal government was doing the utmost to contain the virus. He also urged local public-health bodies to be vigilant and said schools with confirmed cases "should consider closing".
Mexico's economy suffers from swine flu
May 5th, 2009
Mexico's finance minister estimates that the swine flu is going to cost the country's economy more than two billion dollars. The World's Lorne Matalon speaks with a number of Mexicans about how the outbreak may not have hurt their health, but it certainly hurt their wallets.
Egypt's pig slaughter
May 5th, 2009
In Egypt, the government has responded to the swine flu outbreak by ordering the slaughter of all of the country's pigs. Residents of one Cairo slum say the move will do nothing to protect Egyptians from the virus, even as it destroys their livelihood. Aya Batrawy reports from Cairo.
Flu politics in Mexico
May 4th, 2009
The World's Lorne Matalon reports on some of the political fallout from the swine flu outbreak in Mexico. Some opposition politicians are criticizing the government for not reacting fast enough to the outbreak, or for overreacting. President Felipe Calderon has defended his government's actions as swift and appropriate.
Flu questions
May 4th, 2009
Anchor Lisa Mullins gets some updated information on the swine flu outbreak from The World's health editor David Baron. That includes an update on whether the flu outbreak is indeed slowing down in Mexico, but still spreading elsewhere.
How Mexico is coping with swine flu
May 1st, 2009 The World's Lorne Matalon examines the psychological effect the swine flu outbreak has had so far on people in Mexico.
Swine flu source
May 1st, 2009
Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Ellen Silbergeld, professor of environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, about what scientists know so far about the swine flu virus, or "Influenza AH1N1." Some think industrial-size pig farms in Mexico may have played a role in creating the virus.
A doctor's day in Mexico City
April 30th, 2009 The World's Lorne Matalon profiles a pediatrician in one of Mexico City's hospitals. The doctor is struggling to care for his young patients and protect his own health amidst the swine flu outbreak.
Tourists in Mexico City
April 30th, 2009
Most public venues in Mexico City are closed due to the swine flu outbreak there. Correspondent Jennifer Schmidt reports on some foreign tourists in Mexico City pondering their next move.
Swine flu questions and answers
April 30th, 2009
Anchor Lisa Mullins gets some answers to questions about the swine flu -- from Peter Sandman, a risk communications consultant, and health journalist Christine Gorman.
Part 2 of the interview
Flu update
April 29th, 2009 The Obama administration says its acting aggressively at all levels to respond to the spread of the swine flu. This as U.S. officials have confirmed the first death from the swine flu on U.S. soil. The World's Matthew Bell reports on the latest developments on the outbreak.
Life in Mexico City
April 29th, 2009
Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Jorge Milke a businessman who lives just outside Mexico City about how life for him and his family has been altered over the last few days since the outbreak of the swine flu.
Change of plans
April 29th, 2009
Anchor Lisa Mullins tells us how the swine flu outbreak in Mexico is affecting three very different people: A restaurant manager in Mexico City, a man who is about to be married in North Carolina and a race car driver from Britain.
Swine flu concern grows
April 28th, 2009 Many parts of the world are concerned about the same thing: swine flu. The World's Lorne Matalon has the latest from the hardest-hit country so far -- Mexico.
China braces for swine flu
April 28th, 2009
The World's Mary Kay Magistad reports that China is taking steps to prevent an outbreak of swine flu there.
The 1976 swine flu outbreak
April 28th, 2009
Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with epidemiologist Richard Wenzel about a 1976 swine flu outbreak in the United States -- and how the fight to contain and treat it then compares with authorities are facing today. Dr. Wenzel diagnosed some of the earliest swine flu cases in 1976.
The swine flu and the ailing economy
April 28th, 2009
The World's Matthew Bell reports on how a swine flu crisis might affect the global economic recovery.
Fighting a flu pandemic?
April 28th, 2009
A swine flu-induced setback in global trade might have an unwelcome effect on nations' efforts to prepare for and deal with a pandemic. Anchor Lisa Mullins learns more from Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Tell us what precautions you are taking
