Homeland Security boss warns US flu deaths are likely; virus might subside, then return

October 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has told Bloomberg Television that Al Qaeda-type terrorists are present in the country and are being tracked.

September 14th, 2009 Feds urge small businesses to prepare for H1N1WASHINGTON — Federal officials said Monday small business owners should be prepared to operate with fewer employees this fall as swine flu spreads across the country. The Department of Homeland Security is issuing guidelines on combating swine flu to small businesses, which employ about half the workers in the U.S.

September 2nd, 2009 Napolitano: 'Big Influx' of new infections likelyWASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that people should expect "a big influx" of swine flu cases this fall and prepare as best they can. "The best thing we all can do are the very simple things, the washing of the hands, the coughing into the sleeve," Napolitano said in a nationally broadcast interview.

September 1st, 2009 President gets flu briefing, hosts RamadanWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is starting September with a briefing on the latest efforts to prepare for the H1N1 flu virus. Tuesday's briefing features senior officials who will outline the government's ongoing efforts to respond to the new strain of swine flu.

August 24th, 2009 Officials warned about fake DHS intel e-mailsWASHINGTON — Some e-mails purporting to be from the Homeland Security Department's intelligence division were fake and contained malicious software. The e-mails actually originated from Internet addresses in Latvia and Russia, according to a three-page alert from the Homeland Security Department's counterintelligence unit.

August 4th, 2009 WHO says swine flu deaths surge to 1,154GENEVA — The World Health Organization said Tuesday that 1,154 swine flu victims have died since the virus emerged in April. WHO said that includes 338 deaths reported in the week leading up to last Friday.

June 25th, 2009 House passes Homeland Security spending billWASHINGTON — Democrats who control the House have pushed through a $44 billion spending bill that awards the Homeland Security Department a 7 percent budget increase. The bill passed late Wednesday.

June 3rd, 2009 WHO: Swine flu cases worldwide near 20,000GENEVA — The World Health Organization says the number of swine flu cases worldwide has reached 19,273 after the United States reported over 1,000 new infections. WHO says the virus has been confirmed in 66 countries, with Egypt and Nicaragua the latest to report one case each.

May 11th, 2009 GENEVA - The World Health Organisation (WHO) Monday said that 4,694 cases of the new influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 53 deaths, were confirmed in 30 countries. Mexico had 48 deaths from 1,626 laboratory-confirmed human cases of infection.

May 7th, 2009 GENEVA - The number of laboratory confirmed cases of infections of the new influenza A(H1N1) virus rose to 1,893 in 23 countries, the World Health Organization said. In a posting to its website late Wednesday, the health agency confirmed also a second death in the US, on top of 29 deaths in Mexico.

May 7th, 2009 MEXICO CITY - The number of people died from the swine flu has climbed to 42 in Mexico, authorities have said as the country began resuming its normal activities. The number of infections has also climbed to 1,070, Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said Wednesday, adding that three latest deaths from the AH1N1 virus occurred over the preceding three days.

May 3rd, 2009 TORONTO - With swine flu cases rising sharply to 85, Canadian authorities Saturday confirmed the first case where pigs contracted the H1N1 virus from a man who had just returned from Mexico. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said this could be first case of human-to-animal transmission of the virus during the current global outbreak.

April 29th, 2009 Napolitano asserts strong federal flu responseWASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that dealing with the swine flu virus will be "a marathon, not a sprint" and individual citizens have a responsibility to help. Appearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Napolitano, who is the Obama administration's lead official on the federal disaster response, said that in important respects, state and local authorities represent the "first responder" role in the widening health emergency.

April 28th, 2009 Gov't: Stern border monitoring not yet necessaryWASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is arguing that "passive surveillance" of the U.S. border with Mexico is sufficient and that tougher monitoring measures are not yet necessary.

April 28th, 2009 GENEVA - The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised its pandemic alert level for influenza one step to phase four in light of the developments of the swine flu outbreak, an official said Tuesday in Geneva. Margaret Chan, director general of the WHO, made the decision following a meeting of the organisation's emergency committee but did not recommend restrictions on travel.