Swine Flu: What the bloggers (and twitterers) are saying

 The advent of the weblog or blog, as well as social networking services such as Twitter have allowed individuals to become the newswires of the 21st century. From the attack on Mumbai to the swearing in of President Obama, we have all become in our own ways, on the ground reporters of life changing events.

The latest swine flu outbreak in Mexico is no different. Insidemex.com looks at what the bloggers and twitterers are saying about the latest blow to this beautiful country.

www.garydenness.co.uk: Gary (Twitter name: @garydenness) is keeping a daily Swine Flu diary. He isn't sure whether the Anti-flu measures work, whether a mask keeps you from catching it, but that's not going to stop him from following the precautions.

www.Cancuncanuck.com: Cancuncanuck (@cancuncanuck) is - as her name would suggest - a Canadian living in Cancun with her family. So far there have been no reports of any illness in the Yucatan or Quintana Roo, although as with the rest of Mexico schools have been shut down. That said, Cancun is being affected by this crisis as much as any city in Mexico: @rivergirlcancun (www.hiddencancun.com) was tweeting yesterday that planes were arriving in Cancun empty and leaving full. That's never a good sign.

www.mexicoreporter.com: @mexicoreporter (LA Times blogger Deborah Bonello) is a regular twitterer and has been video reporting on the affects of the swine flu on the local economy in Mexico Cty. Check out what the man on the street is saying in her latest video.

www.morenainmexico.com Inside Mexico founder Margot Lee Shetterly (@mrlsmexico) compares the current crisis with her experiences travelling through the SARS outbreak

www.misdwesternerinmexico.com, a newly-wed American living in Mexico City hasn't left her house for the last three days purely because she has nothing to do. Almost all social activities in Mexico City have been shut down.

If you speak Spanish it's well worth checking out the tweets from @eluniversal (www.eluniversal.com.mx). They are very up to date but like all the Spanish language press can be a little alarmist.

An excellent source of information (although with few links) is @mpoppel, with breaking news round the clock.

Finally for a good blog as about swine flu in Mexico and regular tweets, check out CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr Sanjay Gupta. He seems sensible and not too alarmist, giving the facts and explaining the context. Worth reading and following on @sanjayguptaCNN.

As always these are personal favourites and we'd love to hear what you read to keep abreast of the swine flu situation. Let us know in the comments below, and of course you can follow our twitter stream at @insidemexico as well the regular updates on our blog.