I am working myself to death with this outbreak and cannot find time to get a good update with research. What I can say with certainty is there are 400 confirmed US cases now and 700 probable cases. There are many many more under investigation. The rate of spread seems to have slowed a little but it is still spreading at a fairly rapid rate. Yet there is only ONE death.

A 33 year-old American in a border town with chronic diseases apparently and who was pregnant died of the disease. This is horribly tragic. But from an epidemiological perspective does not increase the perceived threat level from this virus. I cannot imagine the grief her family must feel. I am glad the baby survived. But this is the kind of person the flu kills every year. It is tragic but expected.

I have also seen the Swine flu fatigue set in. I hear constant jokes and criticism of the handling of this disease. I am reminded of living in hurricane country before Katrina with all the cavalier attitudes people had after surviving storms that did not pay off as they had threatened. I fear for this country's ability to handle a killer flu if one arises.

My advice, relax. This virus is still just as likely to keep spreading as it is to fizzle out, but it is not currently dangerous. If you are in a high risk group (young children, elderly, pregnant, chronic disease) or if you are around people in high risk categories, continue to protect yourself. But stay wary. Don't completely let down your guard. This virus can still mutate as flu does. It is still a novel virus and we are not immune to it. And it can become a severe one.