5,000 Die of Swine Flue – WHO

Nearly 5,000 people have reportedly died from swine flu since it emerged this year and developed into a global epidemic, the World Health Organization said Friday.
Since most countries have stopped counting individual swine flu cases, the figure is considered an underestimate.
WHO said there were 4,999 total deaths through Oct. 18, most of them in the Western Hemisphere. The figure was up 264 from a week earlier
Iceland had its first swine flu death this week, and WHO said Sudan and Trinidad and Tobago also reported deaths from the virus for the first time this week.
In London, drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC said children may only need one shot of its swine flu vaccine to be protected.
In its statement Friday, Glaxo said one dose was enough to boost children’s immune systems to fight the virus, based on data from a trial in Spain in 200 children aged six months to 3 years.
Glaxo’s finding comes after experts said they expected children would need two doses, since their immune systems are weaker than those of adults. Last week, rival vaccine maker Sanofi Aventis said children would likely need two doses of vaccine against swine flu, or H1N1.