Flu Panic Eases

Obviously, there is still a lot of cause for concern over the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and its spread into the U.S., where 64 cases now have been diagnosed (most them them among students in New York who had recently visited Mexico)

But after a few stabs at hysteria from the usual suspects, calm and reason prevail. The travel industry, while still on high alert, has settled down, as have airline and hotel stocks. Here's a good report on airline operations from Aviation Week.

Here is an interesting chart from the World Health Organization explaining the various alert phases in defining a pandemic. Current phase is 4.

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