Swine Flu Pedia

Swine flu is spreading among high school students in Japan, with the number of confirmed cases now at 44.

Authorities have closed almost 600 schools in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.

Most of the students who have the disease have not recently travelled abroad.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the virus has spread to 39 countries.

The virus is behaving much like a seasonal influenza strain, spreading quickly and causing most people minor illness.

Seasonal flu kills 500,000 people each year.

The WHO raised its pandemic alert on April 29 to 5 on a scale of 6, meaning a pandemic is imminent.

Proof the disease was spreading in a region outside North America, where it originated, would trigger an increase to 6.

Sources from Reuters