The number of swine flu cases is closer to reaching 30,000, the World Health Organization reported Friday, a day after declaring the start of a global pandemic.

As of Friday, 29,669 cases of the H1N1 virus have been reported in 74 countries, the WHO said. The total number of deaths worldwide has reached 145.

The latest figures come a day after the WHO said the virus was “unstoppable” and had become widespread enough to raise the global swine flu alert to its highest level.

The U.S. and Mexico, where the earliest cases of the outbreak occurred, remain the countries with the highest number of swine flu cases.

There have been 13,217 reported cases in the U.S. and 6,241 in Mexico.

The WHO has been updating the number of global flu virus cases on a nearly daily basis since the outbreak emerged in late April.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is due to provide its weekly update of cases on Friday. A total of 27 deaths have been reported in the U.S.

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By Jenny Hopkinson, The Daily Times

SNOW HILL — Three more Worcester County public schools students and another county resident have tested positive for the H1N1 virus — otherwise known as swine flu — bringing the total of confirmed cases up to six.

News of the four additional cases comes less than a week after the Worcester County Health Department announced that two residents — one adult and a student at Ocean City Elementary School — had contracted the virus.

In a letter released to parents Wednesday, Superintendent Jon Andes confirmed the four cases at “various schools in our system,” which he later described as being in “four different locations” in a phone interview. School officials and the health department declined to name the schools affected by the new cases.

“Students diagnosed with the H1N1 flu are being treated by a physician and will return to school when cleared by their physician,” Andes wrote in the letter.

For privacy reasons, the school system and the health department will not release any specific information on the cases. All 14 schools will remain open, Andes said; the last scheduled day of classes is Tuesday.

As of Wednesday, there were 137 confirmed cases of the virus in Maryland, found in 12 counties and Baltimore City, said David Paulson, a spokesman from the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. That number is up from 83 on Friday. The median age of those infected is 15 years old, he said, and there have been no reported deaths in Maryland from the disease.

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Taiwan News

Taipei, June 11 (CNA) Taiwan’s health authorities reported Thursday four more cases of imported swine flu, with three from Thailand and one from America, bringing to 36 the country’s total number of confirmed cases.According to the Central Epidemics Command Center (CECC), one of the four new cases is a 22-year-old female, who traveled on a college graduation trip to Thailand from June 3-9 along with a 22-member group. She was found with a fever upon her arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at the end of her trip.

Two students in the same group found with fevers have been found not to be infected with swine flu, officially known as influenza A(H1N1).

The 34th case is a 26-year-old man, who was in a 30-member tour group to Thailand from June 3-8. The man began to suffer from symptoms of fever and coughing after returning to Taiwan, and went to the hospital on June 9.

No other member in the man’s group has been discovered with swine flu symptoms, the center said.

The 35th case is a 30-year-old Thai engineer working in Taiwan, who returned to and stayed in his country from May 27-June 7. The man came down with a fever and a runny nose from June 9 and went to the hospital by himself the following day.

He had contacts with a friend with swine flu symptoms, and also had short contacts with his colleagues in Taiwan from May 31-June 2.

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By Associated Press

BOSTON — Authorities have confirmed 86 new cases of swine flu in Massachusetts, raising the total to 940 since the outbreak began in April.

The Department of Public Health says eight of the new cases were hospitalized.

With Dukes County — Martha’s Vineyard — reporting its first case, department spokeswoman Jennifer Manley says every county in Massachusetts has now had at least one confirmed swine flu infection.

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StarNews

New Hanover County Schools confirmed two new cases today of the novel H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.

One student attends Roland-Grise Middle School, the other goes to New Hanover High School. Parents at both schools were notified through the Alert Now telephone message system and letters were sent home Monday.

Roland-Grise reported 140 out of 792 students absent today. New Hanover is on an exam schedule and not reporting traditional attendance.

Custodians are cleaning and disinfecting the buildings and buses, and schools will open as usual tomorrow.

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BBC

The number of people with swine flu in Scotland has risen again, with a further 32 cases being confirmed.

The Scottish Government said the increase, on top of a record jump of 43 on Monday, brings the total to 264.

Of these, 11 are now being treated in hospital, including three in intensive care in Paisley.

St David’s Primary and Cochrane Castle Primary, both in Johnstone, and Pollokshaws Day Nursery, Glasgow, have closed for seven days.

Pupils in P5 at Shawlands Primary School, Glasgow, were also told to stay at home for a week, along with classes at Rothesay and Dunoon primaries.

The confirmed cases among children in Rothesay and Dunoon prompted risk assessments by public health officials. As a result, children from a P3 class at Rothesay Primary and a P6 class at Dunoon Primary have been asked to stay at home for seven days and have been issued with Tamiflu.

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By Yereth Rosen, Reuters

* Carnival’s Holland America ship has 5 swine flu cases

* Follows month after Royal Caribbean cases

* Carnival, Royal Caribbean shares fall more than 2 pct (Adds background on previous swine flu cases)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, June 8 (Reuters) – Five crew members on a Holland America cruise ship have been diagnosed with theH1N1 swine flu virus after tests in the Alaskan port of Ketchikan last week, according to the Alaska Division of Public Health.

The incident on the Carnival Corp (CCL.N)-owned cruise liner follows a month after rival Royal Caribbean (RCL.N) reported two probable swine flu cases among crew on one of its ships.

The crew members on Holland America’s Zaandam were tested last Wednesday, and results of tests conducted by Alaska’s virology laboratory turned out positive, said Dr. Beth Funk, an epidemiologist with the division.

A representative of Holland America, a unit of Carnival Corp, did not return a call seeking comment. The 780-foot Zaandam carries up to 1,432 passengers and 607 crew members, according to the company’s website.

Carnival’s shares closed down 2.2 percent at $25 on the New York Stock Exchange. Royal Caribbean shares fell 2.6 percent.

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The Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The Navy is reporting 21 cases of swine flu on board the USS Iwo Jima.

Navy spokesman Cmd. Cappy Surette says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case on May 27. The amphibious assault ship left New York on May 26 after participating in Fleet Week.

Surette says the cases were mild. All 21 sailors and Marines were treated in New York and have since returned to duty.

Several other people have been isolated in the ship’s medical ward after developing flu-like symptoms.

The Iwo Jima is scheduled to return to Norfolk later this week.

Surette says the Navy has had 147 confirmed cases of H1N1, and 137 of those people have returned to work.

By VOA News 

The World Health Organization (WHO) says swine flu has now spread to 73 countries, with 139 deaths from the disease since it was first detected in April.

The latest WHO figures, released Monday, show more than 25,000 people have been infected with the swine influenza A-H1N1 worldwide.

The United States tops the list with more than 13,000 cases — followed by Mexico, with more than 5,700. Most of the deaths from swine flu occurred in Mexico.

The WHO has said it is closer to declaring a pandemic because the infection appears to be taking hold outside North America. 

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Spanish News

The number of cases of confirmed swine flu or influenza A/H1N1, in Spain has risen to 291 in a week, according to the latest figures released by the Spanish Ministry of Health on Friday.

Out of the 291 cases, 66 cases correspond to schools in Madrid (Isaac Albéniz, Pío Baroja and the infants school La Locomotora).

The WHO (World Health Organization) included Spain in the list of countries where the disease was spreading quickly from person to person.

According to the WHO, the total number of cases of A/H1N1 are now at 21,940 with 125 patients who died from the disease.