Swine influenza has broken out in Mexico, and is extending to other regions across the planet such as America and Europe.  The World Health Organization raised its global alert level for the swine flu on Monday, as Mexican officials reported that the death toll from the outbreak had reached 149. In the United States, the number of people sickened by the virus reached 40 (with 28 in one New York City school), though officials said that none of the cases were serious.

What is a swine influenza? Referring from Wikipedia:

Swine influenza (also swine flu) refers to influenza caused by any virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae that is endemic to pig populations. Known strains of swine influenza virus (SIV) are classified as either Influenzavirus C or one of the subtypes of Influenzavirus A.

Swine influenza is known to be caused by influenza A subtypes H1N1,H1N2,H3N1,H3N2,and H2N3. In swine, three influenza A virus subtypes (H1N1, H3N2, and H1N2) are circulating throughout the world. In the United States, the H1N1 subtype was exclusively prevalent among swine populations before 1998; however, since late August 1998, H3N2 subtypes have been isolated from pigs. As of 2004, H3N2 virus isolates in US swine and turkey stocks were triple reassortants, containing genes from human (HA, NA, and PB1), swine (NS, NP, and M), and avian (PB2 and PA) lineages.

Maybe it is another global war like SARS, are you ready?

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