The Swine Flu is widespread globally and are placing basketball players on the injured list and affecting programs around the world.

(Forum: Swine Flu’s affect on basketball worldwide)

With crowds of basketball fans gathering to watch matches in intimate proximity with one another, arenas and stadiums are prime locations for   spreading the H1N1 virus, or the influenza strain known as the Swine Flu.

Swine Flu has affected countless high school, junior and college basketball teams. And professional basketball players are also prone to catching the H1N1 virus, including stars from the Euroleague and the NBA.

Josh Childress, Theo Papaloukas, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Sofokolis Schortsanitidis, Marko Banic, and CJ Watson are on a list of professional players that have been diagnosed with H1N1.

Earlier this month, in separate incidents, the Swine flu forced clubs from the Spanish (Bilbao Basket) and British (Glasgow Rocks) basketball leagues to postpone games because their teams had been hit hard by the virus.

In the case of the Glasgow Rocks, Scotland’s only professional basketball team, they would have only been able to suit up three players as half of the team was afflicted with Swine Flu (four of the eight players) and another was injured. Their game against the Guilford will be rescheduled.

Here is a list of known players that have contracted Swine Flu:

Europe:

• Janis Blums, Bizkaia Bilbao Basket
• Javi Rodriguez, Bizkaia Bilbao Basket
• Josh Childress, Olympiakos
• Kostas Kaimakoglou, Maroussi
• Linas Kleiza, Olympiakos
• Kostas Papanikoloau, Olympiakos
• Marko Banic, Bizkaia Bilbao Basket
• Mike Copeland, Glasgow Rocks
• Mikey MacGregor, Glasgow Rocks
• Michalis Pelekanos, Maroussi
• Renaldas Seibutis, Bizkaia Bilbao Basket
• Sterling Davis, Glasgow Rocks
• Steve Parrillon, Glasgow Rocks
• Sofokolis Schortsanitidis, Olympiakos
• Theo Papaloukas, Olympiakos

NBA

• Chris Douglas-Roberts, New Jersey Nets
• CJ Watson, Golden State Warriors
• * Coby Karl, Cleveland Cavs
• * Darnell Jackson, Cleveland Cavs
• * LeBron James, Cleveland Cavs

* The Cleveland Cavs players were assumed, and treated, as having the Swine Flu, but were never officially diagnosed with the H1N1 strain. Brandon Bass of the Orlando Magic was suspected to have the Swine Flu, but that was not the case, he was still quarantined as a precaution.

Some of the more common Swine Flu symptoms are severe headache, high fever, vomiting and diarhhea, tiredness, and a severe cough. The difference between swine flu and the “regular” flu is vomiting and diarrhea, which is normally not present with seasonal flu.

According to the World Health Organization, the Americas has been the hardest hit with the highest case count and the virus spreading increasingly in Canada. With the exception of a Iceland, Ireland, and Belgium, H1N1 transmission and symptoms remain widespread and are increasing in European nations such as Spain, Greece, Slovenia, and Portugal. Asia’s Swine Flu cases have remained steady.

For more information about the Swine Flu, go to the Center of Disease Control’s website.