The swine flu pandemic is officially kaput, per the World Health Organization, which is charged with determining this sort of thing. "We are now moving into the post-pandemic period, said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan on a conference call with reporters, citing the consensus of the organization's Emergency Committee. "The new H1N1 virus has largely run its course."

That doesn't mean the virus is gone, of course, just that it is expected to recede into the semi-anonymity of other circulating flu viruses. There may still...