World swine flu cases pass 5,000 mark

THE number of worldwide swine flu cases passed 5,000, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), as the virus spread to three more countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

And swine flu is likely to spread around the world in the next few months and infect one-third of the global population, according to the first detailed analysis of the spread of the virus published by British scientists yesterday.

The study by researchers at London’s Imperial College, published in the journal Science, found that swine flu has “full pandemic potential”, spreading easily from person to person and infecting around one in three of those who come into contact with it.