MINA, Saudi Arabia – Five people died from swine flu during the hajj, Saudi Arabia said Sunday, a relatively small number considering the event is the largest annual gathering in the world and is seen as an ideal incubator for the virus. But some experts warned the true extent of the virus will not be known until pilgrims return to their home countries around the world.

BOISE — State health officials say nearly 800 people have tested positive for the swine flu in the past three months, and about 30 of those cases were reported in the past week.

Swine flu has been linked to the death Monday of a Spokane man in his 70s, health officials reported. The man died at a local hospital and had underlying medical conditions. His is the seventh confirmed swine-flu death of a Spokane County resident.

A influx of swine flu vaccines has prompted local health officials to offer a series of appointment-only clinics in early December.

A influx of swine flu vaccines has prompted local health officials to offer a series of appointment-only clinics in early December.

LOS ANGELES – Silvia Cordero eyed the row of disinfecting gels, soaps and hand sanitizers at a Rite-Aid in Culver City with the intensity of a drill sergeant preparing troops for a skirmish with the H1N1 flu virus. “They’re going in my car, in my desk at work, and in my sons’ backpacks,” said Cordero, 28. “I don’t really like the way any of them feel on my skin, but they might help keep us healthy.”

Swine flu has likely sickened more than 500,000 people in Washington, the state’s Health Department estimates. The surprising new number is based on the statistical modeling that federal officials used to determine 22 million Americans have had the swine flu since April. Nearly 4,000 people in the U.S., including 540 children, have died from the viral infection. The national figures roughly quadrupled the previous death estimates, but they don’t necessarily mean that swine flu has worsened. Most cases still don’t require a doctor’s care. Instead, the numbers are a long-awaited better attempt to quantify the new flu’s toll.

Swine flu has sickened about 22 million Americans since April and killed nearly 4,000, including 540 children, say startling federal estimates released Thursday.

Idaho public health officials have decided to open up the H1N1 swine flu vaccine to everyone under age 65 immediately, including healthy adults. This after vaccines through the season thus far have been limited to specific high-risk groups; the flu strain has contributed to the...

So far, Idaho has been allocated 165,200 doses of H1N1 swine flu, state epidemiologist Dr. Christine Hahn reported to lawmakers this morning. Normally, about a third of the state's 1.5 million residents are vaccinated for seasonal flu. Hahn said even if that were the goal...

Idaho education officials are bracing for a raft of waiver requests from school districts that have seen student attendance suffer from the flu - and don’t want the drop in attendance to hurt their district’s state funding. Idaho bases its funding allocation to districts for...

Good morning, Netizens... Now that President Obama has declared Swine Flu an emergency priority, here are some things our government might do to prepare us for the coming Apocalypse. Ban all pig feed lots, mud bogs and other places where pigs do those gross and...

Well, that was pretty awful. I don't know if the H1N1 is really worse than seasonal flu, because I've gotten a flu shot every year for at least the past 10 and haven't had the seasonal flu. But I sure don't remember anything quite this...

Today was the first day the National Centers for Disease Control accepted orders for H1N1 flu vaccine, and Idaho got its order in - for 9,000 doses. They're expected to start arriving early next week, going directly to hospitals, community health centers and public health...

Boise State University has confirmed its first swine flu case, in a student living in the dorms. They've got a long way to go, of course, to catch up to WSU at Pullman, which has the biggest campus outbreak in the nation with 2,500 cases/More...

Boise State University has confirmed its first case of H1N1 flu, or swine flu, and the patient is a student who lives in the residence halls. "Most cases to date have been mild and people have recovered quickly," the university reports; BSU also is in...

Did you know that the influenza virus can survive on surfaces for two to eight hours, spreading the disease? That's what the CDC says, and the warden of Idaho's privately operated prison, Phillip Valdez of the Idaho Correctional Center, says he has no "no idea...

A group visiting Bonner and Boundary counties from out of state includes one person with a confirmed case of H1N1 influenza and seven people with possible H1N1 flu. The group of more than 100 people has been active in communities in both counties since early...

The Idaho State Laboratory confirmed the fourth and fifth cases of Novel H1N1 (swine) influenza in the five northern counties this week, reinforcing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s message that the virus continues to spread. The latest cases are in women in their...

When swine flu was all the rage last week, hardly an hour went by without some well-meaning organization sending "tips" to avoid the flu and how to handle it if you got it.Most of them were pretty standard stuff your mom always told you, like...

Item: CDC confirms one swine flu case in Idaho: 10 more probable cases reported in Washington/SR, APMore Info: According to the Panhandle Health District, the woman became ill after a recent trip to Texas. She has been recovering at home. The woman, who represents the...

As the media reports more and more on the swine flu, Americans are getting more and more scared. Some schools have been closed, and germaphobics everywhere are on lockdown. What the media has failed to report on, however, is that the swine flu really isn't...

A Kootenai County woman in her 60s who recently traveled to Texas has become the first probable case of H1NI (swine) flu sent by the Idaho State Laboratory to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation. The woman is recovering and did not...

VP Biden handed out some alarmist advice this morning on the "Today Show" regarding swine flu. Now he's back-pedaling. And to think some people wanted to flip that ticket. Sure glad the cool customer is the president. Did he get it right the first time?...

Vice President Joe Biden offers suggestions on avoiding the swine flu on Thursday's "Today Show."

Item: Swine flu has likely arrived: In Washington: Spokane resident, back from California, among six probable cases/John Stucke, Jonathan Brunt, and Sara Leaming, SRMore Info: A Spokane man in his 40s is among six Washington state residents who probably have swine flu, health officials said...

There are no known cases of swine flu in Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Wednesday, as health officials elsewhere confirmed dozens of cases -- including one toddler death -- in 10 states."Right now, we have no confirmed cases in Washington state, and we are doing...

The folks at TalkingPointsMemo say Monday really had only one topic. Oink.