Swine Flu PPTBreaking News

World Health Organization raises the swine flu alert to level five indicating it

fears a pandemic is imminent.

Dr Ihab Suliman30-4-2009

Swine Flu

• The World Health Organization raised the swine flu alert to level five Wednesday indicating it fears a pandemic is imminent.

• On Wednesday, the outbreak grew in terms of confirmed cases, people killed and countries with infections.

• Masks keep you from spreading illness .• Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday in a press briefing that the "evidence is not very strong" for masks' value outside of health care settings, and outside of settings in which people come into face-to-face contact with a person with an infectious disease.

Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• We would not recommend that people generally wear masks in their workplace as a precautionary measure," he said.

In Mexico

• Two of the most common antiviral drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza -- which are effective against swine flu -- are in short supply in Mexico's capital. It also has become impossible to find protective surgical masks, which the government had handed out to one out of every five residents.

• "I was looking for a mask at my local pharmacy, but they sold out," supermarket worker Rafael Martinez said as he rode the subway. "I know it's a risk, but I can't find one."