Newswise — Richard P. Wenzel, M.D., internationally known expert on infectious disease, is available for comment on swine flu and can talk to the implications for the nation of a potential epidemic, a global pandemic and how epidemics have been handled historically.
Health officials around the world are investigating what appears to be a spreading swine flu outbreak. At least 18 swine flu deaths have been reported in Mexico, with another 100 thought to be from the virus. To date, the swine flu cases reported in the United States have been mild, with no deaths attributed to it, but cases are being reported in multiple states.
Wenzel is chair of internal medicine at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and past-president of the International Society for Infectious Diseases. He is the author of "Stalking Microbes: A Relentless Pursuit of Infection Control." He is the first editor-at-large of the New England Journal of Medicine and was among the leading commentators on the SARS outbreak. He was at the forefront of the national debate on smallpox vaccination.
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