NHL Watches As Swine Flu Stops Soccer

The NHL won't comment about the possible effects swine flu

could have on Stanley Cup playoff games, according to Jim Jamieson, writing for The Province and Canada.com.

The NHL has its eye on the worsening swine flu outbreak, he says, but won't comment any further about the possible effects it could have on playoff games.

More than 200 probable cases have been identified in the United States. U.S. officials reported the country's first swine-flu death. 430 schools have been closed, keeping a quarter of a million students out of classes.

The majority of the cases reported are in New York and Texas, which do not have hockey teams in the playoffs.

In Mexico, where the flu is suspected in the deaths of 160 people, spectators have been banned from attending matches in all soccer leagues.

Hundreds of schools in the U.S. have been shuttered to combat the spread of the flu, which the World Health Organization calls H1N1 influenza A.

The latest figures showing at least 16 cases in Chicago, according to the Chi-Town Daily News. Chicago Public Schools announced yesterday that a North Side school, where a student was identified as having a probable case of the virus, would remain closed until further notice.

A Chicago Blackhawks spokesman said the team, which is playing the Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League playoffs, continues to monitor the situation and is working with the NHL.

Worldwide, hundreds of people have been confirmed as having the flu. The death toll remained at 159 with 19 in Mexico. There were 2,498 suspected and confirmed cases in Mexico.

Human swine influenza cannot be contracted by eating pork or pork products, health officials say. Egypt ordered the slaughter of all its pigs and Gabon became the latest country to ban pork imports, despite assurances that swine flu in humans was not directly related to pigs.

In Alberta, Canada, there was a case reported of a farm worker giving swine flu to pigs, but the cases were mild and all have recovered.