By: KATIE MARASCO, ESQ

As of Friday,April 24, the never-before-seen strand of flu, being blamed on a combination of swine, human and avian flu viruses, had taken the lives of at least 60 people in Mexico. After testing, it has been confirmed that at least 8 people in the US have been inflicted with the same virus, but all have recovered.

In Mexico, the unique strand has caused death in the normally less vulnerable people, the young and mid-adult range. The theory is those age groups are less likely to protect themselves with the flu shot and so they were more vulnerable. The cases in the US have been in Texas and California, and for the most part how these people caught the virus is a mystery since none of them have been in contact with pigs and only a few were in contact with eachother. One California victim, however, had travelled to Mexico.

If the international spread is confirmed the pandemic alert may rise.