As many as 81 deaths- including five on Sunday- have been officially blamed on an outbreak of swine flu in central Mexico including Mexico City. President Felipe Calderon asked residents to “maintain calm and collaborate with authorities” in order to prevent the speared of the disease to other parts of the country and abroad.As a preventative measure, the Mexican capital was like “a strange zombie movie” according to one resident after the government shut down all kinds of public spaces. Soccer matches at the Estadio Azteca were played sans aficionados and Sunday masses were empty as people were urged this weekend to stay at home and avoid outside contact. Local schools have been ordered to remain closed until this Wednesday though Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard warned that other public areas may be off limits this week unless the outbreak lessens.
In comments made today on CNN en Español, Dr. Elmer Huerta observed that it’s not known exactly how the swine flu outbreak occurred and why it has hit Mexico so hard. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the outbreak has "pandemic potential" and several countries are on high alert.
- U.S.: The government "will declare today a public health emergency in the United States," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said after at least twenty cases of swine flu have been confirmed. Several cases have been detected in the border states of California and Texas but others as far away as New York City.
- Canada: Health officials today confirmed six cases of swine flu; much like the aforementioned case in New York, several patients are high school students who recently traveled to Mexico.
- New Zealand: Health Minister Tony Ryall declared that ten students who recently returned from Mexico are "highly likely" infected with swine flu after having tested positive for influenza A.
- Europe: French and Spanish authorities are testing five people for possible infection though tests conducted in the U.K. on a British Airways cabin crew member proved negative.
Image- Al Jazeera English
Online Sources- NY1, Xinhua, BBC News, Times Online, AP, Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg, The Telegraph, Reuters, CRCHD
3 comments:
Hopefully the swine flu does not get as bad as everyone thinks it will. That is all the world needs on top of all its problems.
CDC Chief: "We're Going To See More Severe Disease In This Country."
This strain of virus is more potent and more deadly than the virus that hammered the world in 1918 and 1919. Viruses come in waves. There are striking similarities to this virus and the virus that killed up to 100 million people in 1918. The first wave is historically more mild than the later waves.
In addition to this virus becoming more severe, it is mutating faster than previous virus that we have seen. In addition, this virus is nothing like we have ever seen before because it combines features from viruses natural in different parts of the globe. We are in uncharted territory.
If it follows the same path as the 1918 flu, we will see very damaging results. However, we must remember we are a global society now and the virus can spread quicker than we have ever witnessed in history. This is very concerning especially since the drugs we have now seem resistant.
While there have been no deaths in America, it is shadowed by the fact the common variable among the deaths seem to be age. While most American cases have involved the very young and very old (under 10 and over 50) the Mexican cases that ended fatally involved the robust and healthy (over 20 and under 45).
This virus kills the host by over-stimulating the immune system. The term that is used when the immune system over reacts is called a Cytokine Storm. It is usually fatal. During this “Storm” over 150 inflammatory mediators are released. This would account for the high mortality rate in 1918-19.
See history and projections here:
Swine Flu - http://www.butasforme.com/2009/04/25/a-quick-trip-through-the-history-of-pandemic-influenza/
Nice article. Here's my latest web comic about the whole thing:
http://bit.ly/t9R4D
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