original_query: What was the status of laboratory testing and confirmation as the swine flu pandemic progressed?
query: What was the status of laboratory testing and confirmation as the 2009 swine flu pandemic progressed?
answer: As the pandemic progressed, laboratory testing and confirmation decreased.  Many countries stopped issuing estimates of the infected population, making accurate figures difficult to obtain.  In the UK, for example, routine testing stopped on July 2nd, and presumed cases were treated without lab confirmation.