Confirmed Swine Flu Cases in U.S. Spread

By Lauren Neergaard

WASHINGTON -- The new swine flu is rattling Americans from coast to coast and President Barack Obama pledged "to do whatever it takes" to battle an emergency that world health authorities warned is inching closer to a full-fledged pandemic.

"This is obviously a very serious situation, and every American should know that their entire government is taking the utmost precautions and preparations," Obama declared, just hours after the World Health Organization pointed to spreading U.S. infections as it ramped up its grim warnings.

But with nearly 100 confirmed cases in 11 states and many more suspected, Obama also stressed that average people have some power to fend off this new flu just like they can guard against the garden-variety kind.

"It sounds trivial but it makes a huge difference," Obama said at a news conference Wednesday night on his 100th day in office. He repeatedly urged people to wash their hands, cover their coughs and stay home rather than spread germs when they're feeling sick.

Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in Atlanta on Wednesday there were confirmed cases in 10 states, including 51 in New York, 16 in Texas and 14 in California. The CDC counted scattered cases in Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Arizona, Indiana, Nevada and Ohio.

Scores of schools were closed around the country and more might need to be shut down temporarily, triggering a chain reaction as parents left without child care can't report to work. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano urged U.S. businesses to figure out who can telecommute and to take other steps to keep operations going for what promises to be a long period of uncertainty.