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Swine flu death toll reaches 100

Fergus Walsh | 15:41 UK time, Wednesday, 27 May 2009

The global death toll for swine flu appears to have passed 100 .

The death of two more New Yorkers has brought the toll in the United States to 14.

This is slightly higher than . This is the most reliable place to get statistics on the spread of H1N1 swine flu, although it tends to lag behind new national figures by a couple of days. According to the WHO, 48 countries have officially reported 13,398 cases of infection including 92 deaths.

For the moment than H1N1 swine flu. There have been 429 recorded cases of H5N1, 262 people have died. But those deaths go back to 2003 and there have been outbreaks in 15 countries. H5N1 is a disease of poultry and you need very close contact with birds to catch it. There have been just a few cases of person-to-person infection.

H1N1, although it is mild by comparison, is currently of far greater concern. The virus has spread to 48 countries in just a few months. Although the label "swine flu" has stuck to H1N1 influenza, it is no longer accurate. H1N1 is a human disease, and unlike H5N1 it spreads easily from person to person. The WHO and the US government no longer use the term "swine flu", but the UK government does.

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