Swine flu cases surpass 6,600 worldwide

First certified case of swine flu in Malaysia. It is a 21 year-old student who has recently returned from a trip to the United States. The Malaysian Minister for Health has confirmed the news after it was first reported by an independent on-line paper. The student is now in the capital’s Sungai Buloh hospital for tests and care.

Malaysia is the latest Asian nation to certify a case of the A(H1N1) virus. Kuala Lumpur had put various prevention measures in place in an attempt to avoid swine flu’s arrival on the peninsula. The authorities had invited the public to avoid travelling to the countries at risk and they even cancelled an international under-23 football tournament in which the Mexican team was due to participate.

69 deaths have been registered from the A(H1N1) virus so far, 64 of which in Mexico. 6672 people are certified to be suffering from Swine Flu in 33 countries. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has excluded the virus was produced in a laboratory and is already putting in place countermeasures. After a meeting yesterday in Geneva, WHO officials confirmed they intend to produce vaccines on a large scale, while clarifying that the procedure will take time. The WHO underlined that the production of vaccines for swine flu must not interfere with the normal work of producing medicines for other diseases already present on a global scale.