SWINE FLU : Global Pandemic ?

Swine flu has spread to 30 U.S. states and the number of countries with confirmed cases jumped to 19 from two in little more than a week. The expansion comes amid signs of a waning epidemic in Mexico.

Officially called H1N1, the virus is probably circulating in “virtually all” U.S. states, said Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. First reported in the U.S. and Mexico, H1N1 also has been confirmed in Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and New Zealand.

The World Health Organization said this weekend it is on the verge of declaring a pandemic, which would mean the new virus is transmissible from person-to-person as it spreads among nations.