May 12, 2009. Cuba, Finland, and Thailand Confirm Cases of Swine Flu
| SOURCE: | Air Security International |
On 12 May 2009 sources reported that several cases of the H1N1 virus have emerged in the past 24 hours. Cuba, Finland and Thailand have all reported the first confirmation of the H1N1 virus in their countries. Cuba's case was a student who tested positive for the virus after returning from Mexico on 25 April. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed more than 5,200 cases of the H1N1 virus and expects that number to increase. In China, all city-level disease prevention and control authorities and at least one hospital in each city must be set up to monitor developments related to the swine flu. Also, all suspected cases of the A/H1N1 virus must be reported to authorities within two hours. The man who was confirmed to have the swine flu is currently recovering in Sichuan and those individuals who traveled with or came in contact with him are currently under medical observation.
On 11 May WHO officials stated that there is no evidence of sustained person-to-person transmission outside of North America and that it is too early to determine whether the outbreak will remain static or turn into a pandemic. There are currently no plans to raise the pandemic alert level from 5 to 6, the highest level.
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