Europe 
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Number of confirmed worldwide swine flu cases soars
Confirmed cases of swine flu jumped by more than 65 percent Saturday with the World Health Organization reporting 615 people in 15 countries infected with the virus commonly known as swine flu. The organization had reported 367 cases on Friday. The jump in cases was due to ongoing testing of a backlog of specimens. (CNN)
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Flu could become a pandemic, but hopeful signs emerge
A new strain of flu is spreading quickly enough that it could cause a global pandemic soon, but there are signs a pandemic could be a mild one, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. (Wall Street Journal)
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Instead of kissing and handshakes, elbow bumps?
Common forms of greeting, such as handshakes and kisses on the cheek, are coming under scrutiny as the H1N1 virus, commonly known asswine flu, steadily spreads around the world. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent who has been covering the epidemic from Mexico, is advocating the “el-bump,” or bumping of elbows, as a greeting. (CNN)
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What scientists know about this virus
Preliminary analysis of the swine flu virus suggests it is a fairly mild strain, scientists say. It is believed that a further mutation would be needed in order for the H1N1 virus to cause the mass deaths that have been estimated by some. (BBC News)
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Blaming ‘media hype’ for swine flu fears
Did the media overplayed the dangers of the H1N1 virus? Can there be too much information? (The New York Times)
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Continental cuts Mexico flights in half
In response to the swine flu outbreak, Houston-based Continental Airlines said today it is temporarily cutting capacity to Mexico by 50 percent. The new schedule takes effect Monday. (Houston Chronicle)
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Swine flu continues to spread - but slowly
Slowly but surely, swine flu continued to spread Friday, including to the ranks of the United States military, and across the globe the number of confirmed cases rose from 257 to 331, the World Health Organization in Geneva reported. (The New York Times)
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Mexican drug cartels? Al Qaeda? Not likely
Dead pigs in China, evil factory farms in Mexico and an Al Qaeda plot involving Mexican drug cartels are a few wild theories seeking to explain a deadly swine flu outbreak. Nobody knows for sure but scientists say the origins are likely far less sinister. (Reuters)
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What we can learn from past pandemics
History offers a dark warning to anyone ready to write off the 2009 H1N1 virus. In each of the four major pandemics since 1889, a spring wave of relatively mild illness was followed by a second wave of a much more virulent disease. (CNN.com)
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Mexican official says flu cases leveling off
Mexico’s top health official said Thursday the number of new swine flu cases is stabilizing in the nation at the epicenter of the outbreak. The WHO’s flu chief cautioned that case numbers often go up and down, and said the WHO had yet to see concrete evidence that swine flu was leveling off. (Associated Press)
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Will the flu pandemic be mild, or kill millions?
As the swine flu progresses, officials struggle to figure out what the world is facing. “There may be a possibility that the virus will die out and stop, and that would be the best for us. But it can turn the other way,” said Margaret Chan, the WHO’s director-general. (Analysis by Reuters)
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New swine flu cases confirmed in U.K.
British officials confirmed three new cases of swine flu on Thursday, bringing the nation’s total to eight. Two of those infected live in London, and one lives in the northern city of Newcastle. All eight British cases involve people who had recently traveled to Mexico. Officials are investigating 230 other cases. (Washington Post)
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Europeans urged to not panic over swine flu
The EU’s health chief has urged people not to panic over swine flu, as European ministers rejected a proposal for an EU-wide Mexico travel ban. “We have to exercise vigilance, we should not panic, we have to be prepared,” Androulla Vassiliou said. (BBC News)
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Companies plan for a swine flu pandemic
While it’s still unclear exactly how severe or deadly the swine flu will be or even how devastating it will be the global economy, U.S. and International health officials are taking the threat very seriously. And as a result, so are many companies. (news.CNET.com)
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WHO decides to not raise flu threat level
GENEVA - The World Health Organization said on Thursday there was no reason to raise a pandemic flu alert to the highest level. But WHO acting Assistant Director General Keiji Fukuda added a note of caution about the southern hemisphere, which is entering into the flu-prone winter season. (Agence France-Presse)
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No more ’swine’: Call it H1N1 Influenza A instead?
The World Health Organization says it will would stop using the term “swine flu” to avoid confusion over the danger posed by pigs. WHO spokesman Dick Thompson said, “We’re going to stick with the technical scientific name H1N1 influenza A.” (Associated Press)
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WHO reports 88 new worldwide swine flu cases
The World Heath Organization has confirmed 236 cases of swine flu infection worldwide, the agency said Thursday, a jump from 148 cases reported the previous day. The largest increase was from Mexico, which has 97 confirmed cases of the virus, compared with 26 cases Wednesday. (CNN.com)
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VP Biden urged family to avoid ‘confined spaces’
Joe Biden said Thursday he advised his family to stay off airplanes and subways because of the swine flu, a remark that forced the vice president’s office to backtrack and prompted one airline official to complain about “fear-mongering.” (MSNBC.com)
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Scientists see this flu strain as relatively mild
Genetic data indicate the swine flu outbreak won’t be as deadly as that of the 1918 Spanish flu, or even the average winter. (Los Angeles Times)
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Flu alert level raised to second-highest level
The World Health Organization raised its swine flu pandemic alert to phase 5 on Wednesday, indicating widespread human-to-human transmission. (MSNBC.com)
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A country-by-country list of confirmed swine flu cases
Here are details of the latest number of cases country by
country. (Reuters) -
WHO chief: Swine flu close to being a pandemic
WHO flu chief Dr. Keiji Fukuda told reporters on Wednesday that developments in the disease are moving the agency closer to raising its pandemic alert to phase 5, indicating widespread human-to-human transmission. (Associated Press)
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Top 5 reasons to not panic over the swine flu
Are you obsessing over the swine flu and its potential to turn into a pandemic? ABC News offers five reasons why there’s no reason to panic over the outbreak.
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Swine flu and travel: What should you do?
Are you rethinking your travel plans in light of swine flu? Here are travel recommendations to keep in mind. (WebMD)
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A pandemic could hit 40 percent of UK population
The deadly swine flu virus could infect up to 40% of the UK population in the next six months if the outbreak becomes a pandemic, world health officials have warned. Professor Neil Ferguson, a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) taskforce which raised its alert over the virus to level four, said four in 10 [...]
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Experts fear potential effect of swine flu on economy
With the global economy already shrinking, this is a bad time for a flu pandemic. The good news: if the flu doesn’t get much worse than it is now, experts say the effect would be negligible. (marketwatch.com)
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Several more countries confirm cases
New cases of the deadly swine flu virus have been confirmed as far afield as New Zealand and Israel, as the UN warns it cannot be contained. The US, Canada, Spain and Britain confirmed cases earlier but no deaths have been reported outside Mexico, where the virus was first reported. (BBC News)
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Track swine flu cases worldwide
The New York Times tracks the flu’s spread through an interactive map and timeline.