Experts Debate Pandemic Potential of Swine Flu

Eighth U.S. Case Confirmed; Top CDC Official Said Concern Has Grown

By DAN CHILDS and AUDREY GRAYSON
ABC News Medical Unit
Abc News

A top federal health official said the government's concern over the swine flu outbreaks in the United States and Mexico has grown since Thursday -- and a handful of influenza experts worry the deadly, never-before-seen hybrid strain may spur a pandemic.

Seven people in California and Texas have been diagnosed with a unique form of swine flu, U.S....

Seven people in California and Texas have been diagnosed with a unique form of swine flu, U.S. health officials said Thursday. All seven people have recovered, Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during an afternoon teleconference. "So far this is not looking like a very severe influenza," she said.

(Getty Images)

Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that health officials confirmed yet another U.S. case of swine flu in California today, bringing the total number of Americans infected with the disease to eight.

Though it is still too early to say for certain whether a swine flu pandemic is possible or likely, the cases, all of which have occurred in California and Texas, have aroused concerns among the public, Besser acknowledged. Read more...