Swine flu anxiety runs high as schools resume. The H1N1 virus has run rampant in the United States since it was first detected in April. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, H1N1 infections have sent 7,983 Americans to hospitals and killed 522 of them. [News Source]

Satellites used to predict infectious disease outbreaks. From avian flu to cholera, infectious diseases may not be able to hide for long. Some researchers have their sights trained on predicting their every move with detailed satellite data. [News Source]

Overuse of antivirals could make H1N1 pandemic even worse. Indiscriminate use of antiviral medications to prevent and treat influenza could ease the way for drug-resistant strains of the virus to emerge, public health officials warn -- making the fight against a pandemic that much harder. [News Source]

Super flu fear as swine strain moves to birds. Two Chilean poultry farms are under quarantine after swine flu was detected in turkeys, the first case of the virus being found in birds, the nation's health ministry and US health officials said yesterday. [News Source]

WHO warns of swine flu ‘explosion’. The global spread of swine flu will endanger more lives as it speeds up in the coming months, and governments must boost preparations for a swift response to a coming "explosion" of cases, the World Health Organization said yesterday. [News Source]

No side effects so far in trial of swine flu shot. Since there have been no serious side effects from the first set of injections of the new swine flu vaccine, trials on children were able to begin, and those in pregnant women are expected to begin early next month. [News Source]

Russia to produce 40 million doses of A/H1N1 flu vaccine. Russia will produce 40 million doses of A/H1N1 flu vaccine by the end of this year, Chief Public Health Official Gennady Onishchenko said. [News Source]

How experts are preparing their families. Though most epidemiologists and flu researchers do not think it likely that a nastier strain will emerge, many are worried that if it did, their local hospitals and other parts of the health infrastructure could not cope... [News Source]

Bird flu causes Alzheimer’s-like brain damage, study says. Survivors of bird flu, and perhaps other influenza viruses, may not be out of the woods once the fever and cough are gone: Animal studies suggest the virus may damage the brain and cause Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. [News Source]

Bird flu virus a possible trigger for Parkinson’s. The idea that viruses can trigger neurodegenerative disease has remained controversial. Now researchers report new evidence for such a link: Mice infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus lose the same dopamine-releasing neurons that are destroyed by Parkinson's disease. [News Source]

Swine flu panic hits the Hajj. Swine flu is sinking its teeth into the Middle Eastern psyche, with officials issuing edicts and taking measures that would previously be unheard of - at least not since the days of the Black Plague. [News Source]

How safe is the swine flu vaccine? Pharmaceutical companies are planning to administer a new, little-tested vaccine to millions of Germans. Meanwhile, officials in the United States are taking a more cautious approach to fighting the virus. [News Source]