Sunday, April 26, 2009

Pandemic in the making

From the Globe and Mail:
Canada's chief public health officer expressed deep concern about a swine influenza outbreak gripping Mexico and the southwestern United States as health officials around the world went on high alert for a potential global flu pandemic.

"This is very concerning, clearly. That's why we're all paying attention," David Butler-Jones said yesterday. "What it will lead to is impossible to predict."

Mexico shut down schools, museums and libraries in its capital yesterday in the hope of containing a never-before-seen virus that authorities say has killed 20 people - and perhaps dozens more. Hundreds in the country are suffering from a severe respiratory illness.

The virus has not landed in Canada yet, but health officials are awaiting lab results from a Crown attorney in Cornwall, Ont., who returned from Mexico last month with a mysterious illness. ...more

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