Blog Every Day April (BEDA) day 24/30
Mexico flu deaths raise fears of global epidemic
Unique virus connected to cases in Calif. and Texas; source still a mystery
Mexico shut down schools, museums, libraries and state-run theaters across its overcrowded capital Friday in hopes of containing a swine flu outbreak that authorities say killed at least 20 people - and perhaps dozens more. World health authorities worried openly that the strange new virus could become a global epidemic.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said tests show some of the Mexico victims died from the same new strain of swine flu that sickened eight people in Texas and California. Of the 14 samples tested from Mexico, seven were matches, said the CDC's acting director Dr. Richard Besser.
Mexico put the confirmed toll at 20 dead, but 40 other fatalities were being probed, and at least 943 nationwide were sick from the suspected flu, the health department said. Scientists said the virus combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before.
[...] President Felipe Calderon cancelled a trip and met with his Cabinet to coordinate Mexico’s response. The government planned to administer its remaining 500,000 vaccines from the flu season to health workers, the highest risk group, although it is not known how effective they are on swine flu. It said it also has enough oseltamivir, the generic name of Tamiflu, to treat 1 million people, but the medicine will be strictly controlled and handed out only by doctors.
[...] Authorities urged people to avoid hospitals unless they had a medical emergency, since hospitals are centers of infection.
[...] The CDC is checking people who have been in contact with the eight confirmed U.S. cases, who all became ill between late March and mid-April. The U.S. cases are a growing medical mystery because it’s unclear how they caught the virus. The CDC said none of the eight people were in contact with pigs, which is how people usually catch swine flu. And only a few were in contact with each other.
ETA:
Mexico Shuts Some Schools Amid Deadly Flu Outbreak
Influenza-Like Illness in the United States and Mexico (WHO)
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[dw & lj]
Unique virus connected to cases in Calif. and Texas; source still a mystery
Mexico shut down schools, museums, libraries and state-run theaters across its overcrowded capital Friday in hopes of containing a swine flu outbreak that authorities say killed at least 20 people - and perhaps dozens more. World health authorities worried openly that the strange new virus could become a global epidemic.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said tests show some of the Mexico victims died from the same new strain of swine flu that sickened eight people in Texas and California. Of the 14 samples tested from Mexico, seven were matches, said the CDC's acting director Dr. Richard Besser.
Mexico put the confirmed toll at 20 dead, but 40 other fatalities were being probed, and at least 943 nationwide were sick from the suspected flu, the health department said. Scientists said the virus combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before.
[...] President Felipe Calderon cancelled a trip and met with his Cabinet to coordinate Mexico’s response. The government planned to administer its remaining 500,000 vaccines from the flu season to health workers, the highest risk group, although it is not known how effective they are on swine flu. It said it also has enough oseltamivir, the generic name of Tamiflu, to treat 1 million people, but the medicine will be strictly controlled and handed out only by doctors.
[...] Authorities urged people to avoid hospitals unless they had a medical emergency, since hospitals are centers of infection.
[...] The CDC is checking people who have been in contact with the eight confirmed U.S. cases, who all became ill between late March and mid-April. The U.S. cases are a growing medical mystery because it’s unclear how they caught the virus. The CDC said none of the eight people were in contact with pigs, which is how people usually catch swine flu. And only a few were in contact with each other.
ETA:
Mexico Shuts Some Schools Amid Deadly Flu Outbreak
Influenza-Like Illness in the United States and Mexico (WHO)
---
[dw & lj]