Swine flu: 20 human cases confirmed in the United States

Atlanta

- The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States reached 20 so far as the outbreak continues to take on greater proportions in Mexico.

As of April 26, cases have been confirmed in California, Kansas, New York City, Ohio and Texas, according to an advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As a result, CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center in dealing with this outbreak. The White House scheduled a news briefing today.

The virus, CDC reports, is unique. It contains a combination of gene segments that have not been reported in the United States or anywhere else in the world.

"Investigations are ongoing to determine the source of the infection and whether additional people have been infected with swine influenza viruses," CDC says in an advisory yesterday. "At this time, there have been no severe illnesses or fatalities seen in the United States. However, CDC and state public and animal-health authorities are still in the early stages of the investigations."

CDC is working very closely with officials in states where human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) have been identified, as well as with health officials in Mexico, Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO).

In Mexico, the situation is much more grave.

Government officials there reported three separate events of influenza-like-illness, according to an advisory from WHO. As of April 23, more than 854 cases of pneumonia have been reported in Mexico City. Of those, 59 have died, CDC adds. In San Luis Potosi, located in central Mexico, 24 cases of influenza-like-illness, with three deaths, have been reported. And from Mexicali, near the United States, four cases of influenza-like-illness, with no deaths, have been confirmed.

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs. The disease is not normally zoonotic, however, human infections with swine flu do occur, and cases of human-to-human spread of swine flu viruses have been documented.