Swine Flu Updates: Thursday

The death toll in Mexico is now at 170 and the government is telling all citizens to stay home for the next five days, and "ordered all but the most essential government services shut down from Friday through Tuesday, meaning only functions like transport, supermarkets and hospitals will stay open." "There is no safer place to protect yourself against catching swine flu than in your house," Mexican President Felipe Calderon said.

116 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. with hundreds more awaiting test results. The following states have confirmed Swine Flu cases: New York, Texas, California, South Carolina and scattered cases in Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Minnesota, Colorado, Georgia and Maine.

U.S. and international cases continue to be mild, unlike what's happening in Mexico. No citizen of any country other than Mexico has died, and very few of the U.S. cases have even required hospitalization, unlike Mexico. Some health officials think the logical explanation for that is that there were far more than 2500 people infected in Mexico. One official said to get that many sick people, the number of infected may have been much higher, but misdiagnosed early on.

Update 12:16PM CDT:

Vice President Joe Biden appeared on Good Morning America and said he would tell family members to avoid confined spaces like airplanes and subways. That created an uproar in the travel industry.

Update 3:07PM CDT:

A White House staffer has the Swine Flu, as well as three of his family members. All have recovered. The staffer accompanied the President and other staff members during the recent trip to Mexico but did not have any contact with the President.

Swine Flu Updates: Wednesday

The first victim in the U.S. to die from the Swine Flu was a 22 month old Mexican boy who was visiting relatives in Texas.

The number of U.S. confirmed cases stood at 91 late Tuesday, but hundreds more suspected cases are awaiting test results. As one U.S. official said, "these numbers are outdated about the same time they are announced."

Confirmed cases include: 51 cases in New York, 16 in Texas, 14 in California, and cases in Massachusetts, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Indiana, Kansas and Ohio.

Illinois has 9 more suspected cases.

Over 100 schools have been closed in the U.S. from the Swine Flu. 74 of those schools closed because of confirmed or probable cases of Swine Flu. The CDC is recommending schools close for 7 days if a student or staff member gets sick.

Deaths in Mexico attributed to Swine Flu has risen to 160, but at the same time they now claim the 20 confirmed deaths from Swine Flu are actually 7. Over 2500 Mexican cases of Swine Flu have been reported, with approx. 1300 people still hospitalized.

Update 3:30PM CDT:

"The World Health Organization prepared to raise the pandemic threat level from swine flu to phase 5 on Wednesday...

"Things are moving fast," a WHO source told Reuters.

Nearly a week after the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, first emerged in California and Texas and was found to have caused deaths in Mexico, Spain reported the first case in Europe of swine flu in a person who had not been to Mexico, illustrating the danger of person-to-person transmission.

Phase 5 is the WHO's second highest level of warning that a pandemic, or global outbreak of a serious new illness, is imminent.

"It is clear that the virus is spreading and we don't see evidence of it slowing down at this point," Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO acting assistant director-general, told a news briefing."

UPDATE 3:37PM CDT:

The WHO has indeed increased the threat level to 5, saying a pandemic is imminent.

Update 4:15PM CDT:

If you're the type of person who would feel safer wearing a surgical facemask, you should probably pick some up now as they're starting to become hard to find.

Update 4:31PM CDT:

Two young brothers in Massachusetts have been confirmed with Swine Flu. However, as with most U.S. cases so far, the infected visited Mexico recently. Other than the case in Spain where the sick person did not go to Mexico, it is unknown if any U.S. confirmed case did not visit Mexico. I personally have read several hundred articles the last few days and haven't read any saying a U.S. person who is sick didn't visit Mexico. At the least, the reports do not mention either way.

A St. Louis newspaper warns people not to get scammed by people selling products to protect you from Swine Flu. Follow the CDC guidelines instead, posted at the top right of this site. The main way to stay protected is to wash your hands frequently and avoid touching other people right now.

Update 5:01PM CDT:

20 suspected cases in Miami-Dade County.

WHO Raises Pandemic Level to 5

Huffington Post:

"The World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert for swine flu to the second highest level Wednesday, meaning that it believes a global outbreak of the disease is imminent..."

"All countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans," Chan told reporters in Geneva. "It really is all of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic."

Spain Opens Investigation of Bush Torture

From Huffington Post

"A Spanish judge opened a probe into the Bush administration over alleged torture of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, pressing ahead Wednesday with a drive that Spain's own attorney general has said should be waged in the United States, if at all.

Judge Baltasar Garzon, Spain's most prominent investigative magistrate, said he is acting under this country's observance of the principle of universal justice, which allows crimes allegedly committed in other countries to be prosecuted in Spain.

He said documents declassified by the new U.S. government suggest the practice was systematic and ordered at high levels of the US government."

Swine Flu Updates: Tuesday

U.S. Swine Flu cases have jumped to 64, and deaths in Mexico rose to 152.

"Five states have outbreaks, including New York with 45, California with 10, Texas 6, Kansas 2, and Ohio 1, the CDC reported on its Web site. The U.S. can expect to see hospitalizations and deaths, and businesses and schools should plan for a pandemic, said Richard Besser, the acting head of the Atlanta-based agency, in an interview today. Yesterday, the agency reported there were 40 cases in the U.S."

Swine Flu Updates: Monday

An ongoing roundup of Swine Flu stories as they break. I'll be posting updates throughout the day and a new thread daily so you can get all your Swine Flu updates here.

Hit F5 on your keyboard to refresh the page for the latest news.

20 new Swine Flu cases have been confirmed in NYC, bringing the NYC total to 28, all from one school. None of the patients are gravely ill. Another 17 cases in a NYC school are suspected to be Swine Flu.

The number of U.S. Swine Flu cases has jumped to 40 confirmed in California, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, and New York.

Mexico's death toll has climbed to 149, with 1,995 total cases of suspected Swine Flu. Only 20 deaths have been confirmed to be from Swine Flu at this point. The total number of cases doubled from Saturday to Monday.

Mexico ordered every school nationwide to close until May 6th.

Mexico City is considering shutting down all public transportation. Protective surgical masks are being handed out at Mexico City train and bus stops.

A California grade school closed because one student is showing mild flu like symptoms. Swine Flu has NOT been confirmed in that case, but samples were sent to the CDC.

Track Swine Flu cases worldwide with this customized Google Map.

Swine Flu is suspected or confirmed to have spread to the following countries: Mexico, United States, Canada, Columbia, Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong.

The Centers for Disease Control have created a website for Swine Flu information.

Update: 3:05pm CDT

The United Kingdom has confirmed two cases of Swine Flu in Scotland.

California has confirmed their 8th case of Swine Flu and are investigating another 12 cases.

Update: 3:14pm CDT

Japan has ordered doctors and nurses to begin boarding airplanes arriving from Mexico starting on Wednesday to check passengers for flu symptoms. Passengers will also be forced to complete health questionnaires.

The CDC will issue a travel advisory later today asking Americans to avoid all non-essential travel to Mexico.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is preparing for a pandemic. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is meeting today to decide if they should raise the world threat level. It is currently at 3, 6 is the highest.

Update 3:20PM CDT

Canada has confirmed 6 cases of Swine Flu.

U.S. health officials said of the 40 U.S. cases of Swine Flu, only one person has been hospitalized. They also have released 25% of the stockpile of anti-viral drugs, 11 million doses.

Update 3:21PM CDT

Texas has confirmed a 3rd case of Swine Flu, all 3 are students at the same high school near San Antonio. Texas has closed all 14 schools in the district.

Update 3:27PM CDT

Here's a doozy: Mexican medical staff say the Mexican government tried to cover up the severity of the problem at first by insisting doctors not write the cause of death on death certificates.

In Mexico the virus is mainly striking people in their 20's and 30's. In the U.S. the cases have ranged from 9 to 50 years old, not following normal flu patterns that infect elderly and small children.

Update 3:53PM CDT

A Starbucks employee in Mexico City is being treated for flu-like symptoms and the coffee chain has closed 10 Mexico City cafe's on orders from the government.

The World Health Organization has raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to 4, two stages below declaring a full blown pandemic.

Update 4:25PM CDT

The GOP cut pandemic preparedness funding from the stimulus bill months ago. Those Republicans are always looking out for you.

The number of confirmed U.S. cases has risen to 41.

Videos of Entire 2009 Chicago Bears Draft Class

Post updated with players and video as they are drafted.

DT Jarrod Gilbert 3rd round pick 4 (68 overall)
Big, fast, very strong DT who also played some DE. Good pass rusher, great motor, if he plays like he did in college he will be a monster.

Watch the video of Gilbert jumping out of a pool here.

WR Juaquin Iglesias 3rd round pick pick 35 (99 overall)
Good hands and route running, good size 6' 1", lacks speed at 4.55, considered a possession receiver.

DE Henry Melton 4th round pick 5 (105 overall)
Converted RB, played 1 year at DE. Same school as Cedric Benson, even comes with a DUI. Considered a project, but very fast for a DE 4.65 combine speed.

CB D.J. Moore 4th round pick 19 (119 overall)
5'9" great hands and football IQ, considered a future starter. A little slower than top corners drafted earlier. Played 5 positions in college, including WR. Nose for the ball.

WR johnny Knox 5th round pick 4 (140 overall)
30 TD's in last two years. Only knock is he's light at 5' 11" 185, needs to add muscle to fight bigger db's, but has blazing speed and great hands. great pick late in the draft.

OLB Marcus Freeman 5th round pick 18 (154 overall)
Good speed for position, very athletic, projected as possible first rounder after 2007 season. Ankle injury hurt his value. Slow coming off blocks.

S Al Afalava Round 6 pick 17 (190 overall)
Yet another Strong Safety who cannot cover receivers. Why do they have 7 of these guys on the roster and no true Free Safety? Good tackler, projected as a special teamer in the NFL.

G Lance Louis 7th round pick 37 (246 overall)
Former Tight End who started only one year at Right Tackle. Considered a good developmental pick who needs a couple years on the practice squad.

WR Derek Kinder 7th round pick 42 (251 overall)
Kinder was on pace to be a superstar wideout until he blew out his ACL before the 2007 season. Missed all of 2007 before returning for subpar 2008.