swine flu

Interop Las Vegas faces challenges because of restricted IT budgets nationwide, the poor economy and the unpredictable impact of a swine flu epidemic, but the show is forging ahead with new programs including a segment dedicated to cloud computing.

As the prospect of a flu pandemic grew more likely Wednesday -- the World Health Organization raised its threat alert to level 5 -- data is pouring into federal health care agencies using systems that a decade ago did not even exist.

Mexico, once considered one of the more favorable countries to locate offshore facilities because of its proximity to the U.S. and lack of cultural barriers, has been falling out of favor in the past year due to border violence and drug-related crime. Now add swine flu to that list.