Public Radio International examines the CDC's close surveillance of signs that H1N1 has spread into Africa. Of the cases of H1N1 worldwide, "fewer than 10 are in Sub-Saharan Africa," according to PRI. The article mentions how health officials are keeping a close watch on the nation's slums, where crowding and poor sanitation can create "an incubator for illness" (Crossan, 7/5).

UN Agency Calls African Pandemic Preparedness 'Relatively Inactive'

"Although some countries within East Africa and the Horn region have scaled up their influenza A (H1N1) contingency plans, overall pandemic preparedness remains 'relatively inactive', a U.N. agency has said, as the first cases were reported in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda," IRIN reports (7/2).

New Study Sheds Light On Why H1N1 Is Not Spreading More Rapidly

"With swine flu continuing to spread around the world, researchers say they have found the reason it is “ so far “ more a series of local blazes than a wide-raging wildfire," the AP/Google reports. A study published on Friday in the journal Science reveals H1N1 "has a protein on its surface that is not very efficient at binding with receptors in people's respiratory tracts." However, "flu viruses are known to mutate rapidly, the research team noted, so this one must be watched closely in case it changes to become easier to spread" (Schmid, 7/3). A full list of country cases and deaths is available here (WHO Influenza A(H1N1) - update 58, 7/6).

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