Swine flu continues to spread slowly across the globe. My friends in New Zealand tell me that as they move deeper into the southern winter, the H1N1 pandemic is having a greater and greater impact, with the government there telling people to prepare for H1N1 (aka swine flu) as if they are facing a civil defense emergency.

South Africa has just announced its first case of H1N1, while health officials in Utah are warning that the swine flu risk is serious as the state’s death toll hits 8. Wisconsin has reported its fourth death and in Greensboro, South Carolina, 33 infants are suspected of having been exposed to the virus. Massachusetts too, reported its first death from H1N1.

Two schools in the East of England are closed because some students have tested positive for the virus.

CTV Montreal reported Wednesday that an elderly woman has become the seventh H1N1-related death in Quebec.

Meanwhile, the Scottish authorities confirmed that the British mother who died earlier this week was indeed a victim of the H1N1 virus.

Iran is yet to report any H1N1 infections. While, the source of the original infection, Mexico, has reported 6241 confirmed cases of swine flu, with 108 deaths, a death rate of about 1.7%.

Scienceroll recently provided a round up of flu mapping.