Speaking at a press conference, NYC mayor Bloomberg confirmed 28 New York City cases of swine flu, bringing the number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States to 40. The World Health Organization said Monday it was “very concerned” about the disease’s spread.
  
However, most of those sickened in the U.S. have recovered or are recovering. That’s a stark difference from the deadly outbreak in Mexico that authorities can’t yet explain.
   
Bloomberg said that New York City now has 28 confirmed cases of swine flu, up from eight cases previously announced. The eight earlier cases were students from Lamonaca’s school, St. Francis Preparatory in Queens.
  
There are another 17 probable cases in the city, Bloomberg said.

President Barack Obama said Monday the threat of spreading swine flu infections was “obviously a cause for concern….but it is not a cause for alarm,” while customs agents began checking people coming into the United States by land and air.

The World Health Organization says there are now 40 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States and that it “very concerned” about the disease’s spread.

WHO says none of the cases in the U.S. have been fatal.

Countries across the globe increased their vigilance amid increasing worries about a worldwide pandemic, Obama told a gathering of scientists that his administration’s Department of Health and Human Services “has declared a public health emergency as a precautionary tool to ensure that we have the resources we need at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively.”

The acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Richard Besser, said that Americans should be prepared for the problem to become more severe, and that it could involve “possibly deaths.”

Meanwhile, Britain is currently investigating 17 possible cases of swine flu, but so far none has proved to be positive, Health Secretary Alan Johnson said Monday.

Johnson told the House of Commons that three people who returned recently from Mexico and had developed flu-like symptoms are being kept in isolation in hospital.

He said a further 14 cases are being investigated but the individuals are not being kept in hospital. Those who have been in touch with these people in recent days are also being kept under close observation.

The health secretary said it was somewhat reassuring that the virus, also known as H1N1, had not resulted in any deaths outside of Mexico where it originated.

So far in Europe, one case of the virus has been confirmed in Spain. The European Union has advised against all non-essential travel to Mexico.

Johnson said Britain had stocks of antivirals for at least half of Britain’s population and the drugs would be used to treat those who were exhibiting flu symptoms. A vaccine would take some time to develop, he added.

British officials are increasing checks on international arrivals, particularly from Mexico.

Johnson said the government does not advise the use of face masks because it is not thought they are necessary to prevent the transmission of the virus.

Overall, seventy-three cases of swine flu have been confirmed worldwide, the World Health Organization said Monday.

Forty of those cases are in the United States, 26 in Mexico, six in Canada and one in Spain, a WHO representative said.

Hundreds more cases are suspected, especially in Mexico, where as many as 103 deaths in Mexico are thought to have been caused by the virus, the country’s health minister said. More than 1,700 cases have been reported but not confirmed in the country.

(Source: Associated Press / Breitbart / CBS World News)