As the swine flu progresses, it will be easy for news consumers to get freaked out by ledes such as this from the AP:

“Two million dead. Hospitals overwhelmed. Schools closed. Swaths of empty seats at baseball stadiums and houses of worship. An economic recovery snuffed out. We’re nowhere close to what government planners say would be a worst-case scenario: a global flu pandemic. But government leaders at all levels, and major employers, have spent nearly four years planning for one in series of exercises.”

So where to go to get the facts? The World Health Organization is a reliable start. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is keeping a running chart on their website to track the number of swine flu cases in each U.S. state.

And on a global basis, the Islamic Republic News Agency is disputing whether the swine flu started in Mexico and Israeli Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman of the ultra-religious United Torah Judaism party has said the virus should be called “Mexican flu” in Israel to keep kosher.