GENEVA — The World Health Organization said Friday it is investigating samples of variant swine flu linked to two deaths and one severe case in Norway, but that so far the significance of the mutation is unclear.

Norway’s Institute of Public Health announced Friday that the mutation “could possibly…cause more severe disease” because it infects tissue deeper in the airway than usual.

The mutation was found in three of 70 analyzed swine flu cases, said Geir Stene-Larsen, the institute’s director.

Stene-Larsen said he does not believe the mutant virus is circulating in the general population in Norway, where about 680,000 people are estimated to have been infected with swine flu to date and 23 have died.

The same mutation has been found in both fatal and mild cases elsewhere, including in Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, Ukraine, and the United States, said WHO.

In addition, “worldwide, viruses from numerous fatal cases have not shown the mutation,” the global body said. “The public health significance of this finding is thus unclear.”

“Just to say that the mutated virus infects deeper tissue doesn’t really tell us very much,” WHO spokesman Thomas Abraham told The Associated Press. “What we really need is more clinical and epidemiological data.”

WHO said the anti-viral drugs still appear to be effective against viruses with the mutation, and studies show that currently available pandemic vaccines confer protection against the variant strain.

Virus mutations occur spontaneously and many have no effect on the danger a virus poses to humans.

“Although further investigation is under way, no evidence currently suggests that these mutations are leading to an unusual increase in the number of H1N1 infections or a greater number of severe or fatal cases,” said WHO.

Meanwhile the Geneva-based agency updated its global tally of deaths caused by the virus to over 6,750.

It said transmissions appear to have peaked in some parts of the United States and Western Europe, but elsewhere the number of cases is still increasing, including in eastern Europe, and Central and Western Asia

No one under the age of 12 years is allowed into Hudson Valley Hospital unless they are receiving care. At the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, the same restriction applies to anyone under 18 years old.

Both hospitals prohibit anyone with a fever, cough or flu-like illness. Though hospital officials recognize the benefit of having loved ones, especially children, they can’t take chances during this flu season, they say.

The restrictions are based on recommendations provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York State Department of Health and are similar to policies in place at other hospitals across the state.

The report, “Promoting Preventive Services for Adults 50-64: Community and Clinical Partnerships,” focuses on opportunities to improve the health of the growing number of adults in the 50-64 age bracket to broaden the use of potentially lifesaving preventive services.

The report identifies recommended preventive services such as influenza vaccine, cholesterol screening, breast and cervical cancer screening, as well as preventive screenings for behaviors that could negatively impact health such as binge drinking.

By 2015, an estimated 63 million U.S. adults will be between the ages of 50 and 64, comprising 20 percent of the nation’s population.  They are at greater risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer than younger adults.  Almost one-third of adults in this age group are uninsured.

To view the full report and for more information about CDC’s health aging activities visit www.cdc.gov/aging.

A federal panel is changing long-standing advice and now recommending that women wait until they are 50 to get a mammogram and then every two years—a big change from years of telling women to get a mammogram at age 40 and then every year.

If you want to read the new study in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine so you can decide for yourself, click here.

“With a long-standing reputation for providing high quality, compassionate care, the physicians of Mount Pleasant Medical now offer patients seamless access to Westchester Health’s comprehensive range of primary and specialty care services,” commented Dr. Peter Mercurio, President and CEO of Westchester Health.

The doctors of Mount Pleasant Medical will continue to see patients at 401 Columbus Avenue in Valhalla.  To schedule an appointment, please call 914.769.0268.

Westchester Health includes a network of 80 community physicians who treat more than 100,000 patients. The practice provides primary and specialty care services from their main office in Katonah and 35 locations in Westchester and Putnam counties.

The restriction goes into effect Thursday. Call the hospital’s Department of Consumer Affairs with any questions regarding the flu-related visitation policy at 201-996-2010.

The settlement concludes the lawsuit previously filed by the attorney general in New York Supreme Court against CVS Pharmacy, Inc. for its pervasive sales of expired products and its breach of a prior settlement with the Attorney General in which it agreed to take measures to end such sales. Read the announcement here.