Tracking the outbreak worldwide
Your eyes may glaze over at the thought of graphs. But if, like me, you find them useful, then read on. I'm indebted to my colleague Kate Merriam from ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Research for collating these figures from the World Health Organization website, from the HPA in England and from Health Protection in Scotland.
Before the numbers, here are some points to bear in mind.
First, health officials have been charting the spread of H1N1 swine flu for around seven weeks now. Most of the cases mentioned will now be virus-free and healthy.
Second, the WHO figures lag behind the real total by a couple of days. For example, the death toll for the US is quite a bit below the current figures from the CDC. But the WHO figures, while out of date, are reliable.
Third, all the graphs vastly underestimate the actual number of cases. The CDC has said that perhaps 19 out of 20 cases go unrecorded, and the state of Victoria in Australia has stopped laboratory testing of uncomplex community cases. Given those caveats, I think the figures are useful.
Global H1N1 swine flu cases
First, . As of 1700 BST on 15 June 2009, 76 countries have officially reported 35,928 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 163 deaths.
Now let's look at some individual countries.
UK cases
First, the UK. Figures are from and Health Protection Scotland.
The number of confirmed cases in the UK now stands at 1,562. There has been one death, that of 38-year-old Jacqueline Fleming, a mother who gave birth prematurely after contracting the virus. Yesterday, . He did not have the virus.
A further 141 patients were confirmed with H1N1 swine flu in England today (I think this is a record number for one day in England), bringing the total to 952 cases.
Of the new cases in England, 124 appeared in the west Midlands, where 512 people have been affected by the virus. There was one new case in Northern Ireland, bringing the total to nine.
Three cases have been recorded in Wales. Health Protection Scotland said there had been 10 new laboratory-confirmed cases today, taking the total to 508, with 414 possible cases under investigation.
USA cases
17,855 cases and 45 deaths at 15 June. This represents a rise of 4,638 cases and 18 deaths since the last report on 12 June.
Mexico cases
6,241 cases and 108 deaths with no cases reported in the last three days. This can surely only mean that the figures were not forthcoming or that the authorities are not testing in the community. I will try to investigate further.
Yesterday, the said that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had lifted the recommendation that American citizens avoid all non-essential travel to Mexico.
Australia cases
1,823 cases and no deaths, with 221 new cases.
China cases
318 cases and no deaths, with 100 new cases.
Japan cases
605 cases and no deaths, with 56 new cases.
I'm 
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