Sales of facemasks have soared in the UK with Amazon and suppliers quickly selling all their stock. Unless they are high quality medical masks they won't offer much protection.

I suspect some people are just stockpiling them to ebay them later.

People seldom die from a flu. Mostly elderly and already sick individuals.

I predict this flu ain't no more lethal than the regular seasonal flu's.

You may be right but read my previous post at the top of this page.  Even if this isn't more lethal than a regular seasonal flu it has the potential to infect a greater number of people.  A greater number of people infected with the same mortality rate means more people dead.  The additional risk is that it mutates into a more lethal form of H1N1, which is entirely possible given that Influenza is very prone to mutations.  The Spanish Flu which was a H1N1 virus had a mortality rate estimated at up to 20%.

according to mexico the death rate is slowing down

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health1/death-rate-from-swine-flu-slows-down-in-mexico_100185441.html

A 2-year old child from Texas has died from this flu:

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/29/swine.flu.international/index.html

Sucks for the family... on the positive side, it was not a young adult as most deaths in Mexico were... That would be a worse sign.

^ Tragic for the family indeed. Though people should remember that EVERY year an average of 35,000 people die from the 'flu in the USA. That this 'flu would eventually kill people in the USA is an inevitability. Normal 'flu case fatality rate is approx 0.6%. As more information becomes available about the number of people falling ill it will become clearer whether the case fatality rate for this strain will be greater or the same as usual.

As hsrob says though, less population immunity would mean greater morbidity which would mean more deaths than average, even though this strain may be no more pathogenic than the average strain.

I heard one hypothesis from a medical academic that older people's immune systems, having been exposed to more 'flu in their longer lives and having had multiple 'flu jabs, and possibly having had more exposure to previous pig 'flu virus strains that did not jump the species barrier may make them less susceptible to this strain than the under 45 age demographic. But that is pure speculation for why there was an odd pattern of deaths being reported from Mexico.

This US death, sadly, fits more the typical profile of 'flu fatalities. A friend's 4 year old child died of 'flu a few years ago.

who changed the numbers around again there are 278 Laboratory
confirmed, 2 Probable ,3000+ Suspected , 160/8 deaths*

also there my be a new name for this virus

Israeli deputy health minister Yakov Litzman proposed the name Mexican flu

World Organization for Animal Health has proposed the name North American influenza

European Commission uses novel flu virus

*To date, only seven deaths have been confirmed by WHO in mexico

5 people in the UK have now got it, a 12 year old girl is the most recent victim. The WHO also put this as a level 4 now. I honestly see a pandemic ahead.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/

The child wasn't from Texas. She was from Mexico, that came to Texas for treatment.