World Health Organization: Seven, not 150, confirmed “swine flu” deaths globally

As the World Health Organization raises its pandemic alert over H1N1 (“swine flu”) from four to five, Vice President Joe Biden told “Today” show audiences today that he “wouldn’t go anywhere in confined spaces now” — including commercial planes or subways. But how bad is it? In comments to the Sydney Morning Herald, the WHO’s Vivienne Allan states that claims that 150 people worldwide have died from this strain of flu are false: She, like the WHO’s own report, says the number of confirmed deaths is seven.

The WHO update, which came out before yesterday’s confirmation of the death of a 23-month-old Houston boy from H1N1, found that nine countries reported 148 confirmed cases of infection, with a total of seven deaths, all in Mexico. Mexican authorities put their death toll at 159, including 10 in the last 24 hours. It’s not yet clear why Mexico’s numbers are so starkly different (perhaps Mexico hasn’t “officially” reported to WHO) from the WHO figures.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed that a Cold Spring resident is the Minnesota’s first case of the H1N1.