VIRUSES

Flu Infection Approaches 900

898 sickened in 17 countries.

The swine flu outbreak may be stabilizing, but the World Health Organization's updated tally of the infected is still chilling: 898 sickened across 17 countries, with two additional deaths reported in Mexico. The organization attributes the higher tally to ongoing tests on previously collected samples, and the numbers are expected to rise as results from more countries come in. Also this weekend, Canadian officials confirmed the first human-to-pig transmission of the H1N1 virus, at a pig farm in Alberta; the swine, since quarantined, may have been infected by a Canadian farmer just back from a trip to Mexico. The U.S. now has 160 confirmed cases, with one dead, while Mexico has 506 cases, with 19 dead.