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Swine flu crosses borders via flights
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Who raises global alert to an unprecedented level.
World health officials raised a global alert to an unprecedented level as swine flu was blamed for more deaths in Mexico and the epidemic crossed new borders, with the first cases confirmed on Tuesday in West Asia and the Asia-Pacific regions.
Swine flu has spread to seven countries and appears to be jumping borders via airplane flights. In New Zealand, a group of students and teachers were confirmed with the virus after recent trip to Mexico, where the virus is suspected to have infected nearly 2,000 people and caused more than 150 deaths. Another case was confirmed in Israel.
Fifty cases — none fatal — have been confirmed in the United States. Six cases have been confirmed in Canada, two in Spain and two in Scotland.
European Union officials reported on Tuesday flu cases were also being probed in Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Ireland, in addition to Spain and Britain.
“At this time, containment is not a feasible option,” said Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization, which raised its alert level on Monday.
Mexico, where the number of deaths believed caused by swine flu rose by 50 per cent on Monday to 152, is suspected to be ground zero of the outbreak. But Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said late on Monday no one knew where the outbreak began, and implied it may have started in the U.S.
“I think it is very risky to say, or want to say, what the point of origin or dissemination of it is, given that there had already been cases reported in southern California and Texas,” Mr. Cordova told a press conference.
It’s still not clear when the first case occurred, making it impossible thus far to determine where the breakout started.
Dr. Nancy Cox of the Atlanta-based Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said she believed the earliest onset of swine flu in the United States happened on March 28. Mr. Cordova said a sample taken from a 4-year-old boy in Mexico’s Veracruz state in early April tested positive for swine flu. However, it is not known when the boy, who later recovered, became infected.
The World Health Organization raised the alert level to Phase 4, meaning there is sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus causing outbreaks in at least one country. Monday was the first time it has ever been raised above Phase 3.
The new flu strain is a combination of pig, bird and human viruses to which humans may have no natural immunity. Symptoms include a fever of more than 100, coughing, joint aches, severe headache and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Amid the alarm, there was a spot of good news. The number of new cases reported by Mexico’s largest government hospitals has been declining the past three days, said Mr. Cordova, from 141 on Saturday to 119 on Sunday and 110 Monday.
It could take four to six months before the first batch of vaccines are available, said WHO officials. Some anti-flu drugs do work once someone is sick.
The best way to keep the disease from spreading, health officials said, is by taking everyday precautions such as frequent hand washing, covering up coughs and sneezes, and staying away from work or school if not feeling well. — AP
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