Whitehouse Aid Infected With Swine Flu

Obama has lost two of his nine lives so far, this is his second brush with the Swine Flu. And un-named Aid has become infected and passed the infection on to his family. Report below:

Barack Obama aide infected with swine flu in Mexico
An official in the Obama administration who took part in the US president's recent trip to Mexico is believed to have caught swine flu and passed it on to his family.

The unnamed man, a Department of Energy employee, "came down with flu-like symptoms associated with his work in Mexico," said Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman.

"He is listed as suspected of having type-A H1N1," Mr Gibbs told reporters, referring to the swine flu strain that is believed to have killed more than 160 people in Mexico, one in the United States and set off a warning of a global pandemic.

The man, his wife, son and nephew "tested probable" for the virus but only suffered mild to moderate symptoms and recovered without receiving medication or being hospitalised.

Mr Gibbs stressed that the president had not experienced any symptoms. The employee began to feel sick on April 16, when he attended a working dinner with the president.

"He was asked specifically if he ever came within six feet of the president, and the answer to that was no," Mr Gibbs said. He did not fly on Air Force One. source

LEVEL 5 ~PANDEMIC~ Level Will be Raised by WHO

According to a report the WHO plans to increase to level 5 very shortly. Additionally, scroll down to the post under this one as 2 people who died in California are suspected of dying from Swine Flu,(UPDATE~ one of the deaths has now been ruled out as having swine flu LINK, no word on the 2nd death yet) California has declared a State of Emergency. Definition of Level 5 is below, followed by report:

Phase 5: The same identified virus has caused sustained community-level outbreaks in two or more countries in one WHO region. A pandemic is officially under way.

Considering the rapidly increasing number of confirmed swine flu cases, WHO officials have decided to raise the pandemic alert level to phase 5.

Swine Influenza (swine flu) caused by type A influenza, regularly leads to influenza outbreaks among pigs. The virus does not normally infect humans.

Confirmed sufferers in the United States and Mexico, however, are believed to have spread the disease to their families and others in close contact.

The alert level was increased to 4 on Monday, and WHO officials now say they will be forced to declare a phase 5 alert soon.
"We're still awaiting for a final confirmation from the US authorities, but it appears that there's a number of cases in New York which appear to be human-to-human transmission," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told a news briefing.

The United Nations agency also raised its alert level to 4 on Monday as the virus was detected in several European countries.

Mexican authorities say the new strain has killed up to 149 people in Mexico. About 64 confirmed cases have been reported in five US states. sourceUPDATED X2 Obama requests $1.5 Billion to fight Swine Flu HERE and information on possible vaccine being created HERE

2 Die in US Swine Flu Outbreak~California in State of Emergency

A state of emergency has been called in California as 2 die from Swine Flu. UPDATED One death has been ruled out as having swine flu, no word on the 2nd death yet area bout it HERE.UPDATED X2 Additionally, this just in, it looks like this virus has been in Mexico since FEBRUARY, not March as we have been led to believe, that report is HERE Story on US deaths below:

2 California deaths may be due to swine flu; Schwarzenegger declares state of emergency

Two deaths in Southern California may be due to swine flu, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner's office.

The Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site that tests are being conducted and no official cause of death has been determined.

However, a spokesman for the county coroner told the newspaper that the death of a 33-year-old Long Beach man came after he had swine flu symptoms. Doctors disagnosed him with pneumonia.

The second death also involved pneumonia. Doctors said a 45-year-old man from La Mirada died last Wednesday at a hospital in Norwalk, but the county health department refused to sign the death certificate and wanted to investigate further, the newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency, setting in motion a series of administrative actions, including ordering all agencies to coordinate with public health officials as needed.

The action also suspends noncompetitive bidding for contracts needed to respond to the outbreak and waives certification requirements for laboratories involved in the testing.

In proclaiming the emergency, Schwarzenegger also cautioned that "there is no need for alarm."

The Republican governor said his priority was to limit the swine flu's spread as quickly as possible.

State health officials so far have confirmed 13 cases of swine flu in California. source And here is yet another link to this story from another source HERE UPDATED X2 Obama requests $1.5 Billion to fight Swine Flu HERE and information on possible vaccine being created HERE