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Health experts are keeping a close eye on South American as its flu season comes to an end. Brazil is leading the world in deaths from the H1N1 virus with 560 confirmed victims. As Whitney Ray tells us, the US is expect to see a similar uptick in swine flu cases once our flu season begins this fall.

These aren’t the kind of photos you want to bring home from an overseas trip. They were taken in Chile, after FSU law student Christin Foster caught swine flu.

“I was delirious. I was trying to find any cool spot in the apartment I could find that happened to be the bathroom floor. It was a difficult task just to open a Tylenol packet to lower the fever,” Christin said.

Christin caught the virus in May when South America was just entering its flu season. She was quarantined for a week, and when she was released…

“I saw a lot of people on the street wearing surgical masks, both in Chile and in Argentina. Argentina, it seemed as though there was a widespread fear of the swine flu,” said Christin.

More than a thousand people have died of swine flu in Brazil and Argentina alone. The US has recorded 530 deaths, but we haven’t entered our Flu season yet.

Health experts are keeping a close eye on South America, where a higher percentage of the population has caught the virus and more young people are getting sick. Pandemic expert Scott McPherson says what happening in South American will move into the US this fall.

“The fact that the virus has moved so quickly in that hemisphere during flu season. It is an area of concern for those of us who know it is going to be a problematic flu season here,” said McPherson.

McPherson says the basics like covering your cough, washing your hands, and keeping space between you and strangers will help curb the spread, but once flu season hits outbreaks are inevitable.

Some experts estimate as many has half the US population could catch swine flu. The good news is, the mortality rate for the virus is below one percent. To read Christin’s entire story log on to http://www.scottmcpherson.net.