South Carolina, Georgia Confirm First SE Swine Flu Cases

First, the head of Georgia's Division of Public Health says the CDC has confirmed that a 30-year-old woman from Kentucky who was hospitalized in the town of LaGrange, GA (west Georgia) has been confirmed to have swine flu. She'd been in Cancun, Mexico, earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the CDC also confirmed that there were 10 cases in South Carolina. This raises the total to more than 100 swine flu cases in 11 states.

While only one person has died in the U.S., a Mexican immigrant toddler, 23-months-old, alert levels are high and the CDC is warning citizens to expect more deaths.

It is still unclear why Mexico has experienced so many more deaths and why the virus appears so much more virulent there.

Yesterday, the WHO raised the virus alert level to 5, which is just below the maximum level, which would indicate a global pandemic is in progress.

Mexico has also shut down all non-essential portions of its government as well as all non-essential private business. Currently CDC shows the U.S. swine flu numbers at 109. One person has died yesterday. The CDCD information is current as of April 30, 2009, 10:30 AM ET.