Swine Flu Death Toll Mounts

Et ecce equus pallidus et qui sedebat desuper nomen illi Mors, et inferus sequebatur eum, et data est illi potestas super quattuor partes terrae interficere gladio fame et morte et bestiis terrae. (Revelation 6:8)

Yahoo! News reports the spread of swine flu has increased sharply.

In Mexico 152 persons are now believed to have died from swine flu, with more than 1.600 people suspected to be carrying the virus.

At least 16 countries have now confirmed or suspected infections.

The WHO has raised its flu pandemic alert level signalling a "significant increase in the risk of a pandemic".

Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director-general for health, security and the environment, said, that all corners of the world are at potential risk.

Fukuda continued: "I think that in this age of global travel, where people move around in airplanes so quickly, there is no region to which this virus could not spread".

Fukuda added that the outbreak is too "widespread to make containment a feasible" strategy.

Fukuda said: "With the virus being widespread... closing borders or restricting travel really has very little effects in stopping the movement of this virus".

The head of microbiology at the University of Hong Kong, Yuen Kwok-yung said: "It is very likely we are at the beginning of a pandemic. We are near there".

Dmitry Lvov, head of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Virology, said: "The risk of a pandemic in the world is very high".

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, as his government called a meeting of its COBRA crisis cell: "Swine flu is an international problem now, it's crossed two continents, it's got to be dealt with by international agreements".

Australian authorities said on Tuesday they were investigating 70 possible cases of swine flu and cautioned against travel to Mexico.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned: "We are concerned that this virus could cause a new influenza pandemic. It could be mild in its effect or potentially be severe".

As oil prices suffer new falls amid worries that the outbreak would hurt air travel and hit demand, at least some consumers will now be happy.

Anyway, it seems like swine flu is going to be a marathon, not a sprint - and we have only just gotten started.

"Et audivi aliam vocem de caelo dicentem: 'Exite de illa, populus meus, ut ne participes sitis delictorum eius et de plagis eius non accipiatis' ", Revelation 18:4.