Swine flu passes 1000 mark, spread in Australia and South America is fastest, autumn likely to see second, deadlier surge

In the US, the cities of Seattle, Chicago and New York are badly hit, but the towns of the Mid-West remain relatively unaffected. "Even in the cities of the Mid-West we are not finding much yet. It will come in the autumn."

SHOOT: Compared to Australia and South America, South Africa seems to be missing the swine flu. My gut says it's not being reported. It's interesting that the UK is the highest incidence country in Europe. Probably because it is a hub of airline based traffic.

clipped from www.independent.co.uk The global death toll from swine flu has topped 1,000 as the virus sweeps around the world. Latest figures published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in Stockholm show 1,012 deaths had been reported up to yesterday. Peers yesterday praised the British Government for stockpiling anti-viral drugs like Tamiflu sufficient for half the population and negotiating advance purchase agreements with pharmaceutical companies to supply a vaccine against swine flu for the whole population. But the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee criticised the late launch of the interim National Flu Pandemic Service last week, which had been due to be delivered and tested in the spring. Professor Angus Nicoll, head of the Influenza Programme at ECDC, said Britain remained the hardest hit country in Europe for three reasons.