Swine Flu: What's Your Lab Doing to Prepare?

Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a nationwide public health emergency after recent human infections with a newly discovered swine influenza A virus.

As many as 103 deaths in Mexico may be a result of swine flu, although only 18 of these cases have been confirmed with laboratory tests. Twenty cases have been confirmed in the U.S., in New York, Ohio, Kansas, Texas and California, but no deaths have been associated with swine flu in the U.S.

Schools, churches and many bars, clubs and restaurants in Mexico City shut down in an effort to take as many precautions as possible, but President Obama says that the decision to declare a public health emergency in the U.S. is more of a precaution in order to free up federal and local resources to focus on emerging infections.

It may be some time before we know how mild or severe this outbreak becomes. What is your lab doing to prepare?