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When the swine flu outbreak hit Mexico in April 2009, the public reaction was timid and indifferent. After one week, the outbreak reached the United States then Canada. By the end of April, 11 countries were affected by this new “deadly” virus. A status of confusion invaded the world.

The new emerging global threat occupied the media headlines across the globe. The fact that its name has changed three times (influenza-like illness, swine flu, influenza A(H1N1))* in less than one week shows how "new" this monster is. The frenetic public started storming internet sites for potential news.

Specialized web sites have encountered severe technical difficulties due to the huge amount of traffic. Some sites have witnessed millions of hits per day, coming from the four corners of the globe and causing them to crash for hours.