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Today's Globe: swine flu alert, state precautions, primary care, MS drugs

E-mail | Print | Comments () Posted by Elizabeth Cooney April 28, 2009 06:31 AM

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The swine flu epidemic entered a dangerous new phase yesterday as the death toll climbed in Mexico and the number of suspected cases there and in the United States nearly doubled.

Massachusetts public health officials yesterday mobilized against a possible swine flu outbreak the World Health Organization raised its alert level to Phase 4 - signaling significant risk of a global epidemic - and the number of confirmed cases in the United States more than doubled, to at least 50.

"Obama has put science back on a pedestal after eight years of it being submerged by the Bush administration," Globe columnist Derrick Z. Jackson writes. "A key test of connecting this to the people is whether the administration can resuscitate primary care into a prime career."

The first in a new wave of multiple sclerosis medicines, from drug makers led by Novartis AG and Merck KGaA, may reach the market next year, making therapy more convenient for patients and boosting profits.

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About white coat notes

White Coat Notes covers the latest from the health care industry, hospitals, doctors offices, labs, insurers, and the corridors of government. Chelsea Conaboy previously covered health care for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Write her at cconaboy@boston.com. Follow her on Twitter: @cconaboy.

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