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1085 cases of swine flu (H1N1) confirmed as of May 4

General1085 cases of swine flu (H1N1) confirmed as of May 4
21 countries reportedly affected
 
Today, while swine flu was reported to be increasing its spread across most states in the United States of America but leveling off in Mexico, the Belize Ministry of Health announced that there are still no confirmed cases of swine flu in Belize.
 
Health officials said at a press conference in Belize City this morning that the first 16 tests sent abroad to the Caribbean Epidemiological Center (CAREC) based in Trinidad and Tobago returned with results negative for the H1N1 strain of the influenza virus. Thirteen were negative for influenza A, but three were positive for other flu viruses.
 
Five new samples – 3 suspected cases and two cases of interest, are being sent today via Fed Ex to CAREC for testing, the results of which are expected by Tuesday evening, according to Dr. Michael Pitts, Director of Health Services in Belize.
 
(See definitions of suspected cases and cases of interest at the end of this article.)
 
Meanwhile, the Embassy of Mexico reported today that the number of cases in Mexico, described as the epicenter of the outbreak, has increased to 590, including 25 cases which were fatal. Of note is that three cases were confirmed in Quintana Roo, Mexico, the state immediately bordering Belize in the north. (Only the day before, the official data reported 506 cases in Mexico and 19 deaths.)
 
The total confirmed cases across the globe were listed Monday morning by WHO (World Health Organization) at 1,085 across 21 countries — the bulk of them being in Mexico and the United States, where a Mexican toddler died last week in Texas.
 
The main testing center in this part of the Americas for the H1N1 virus, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the US, reported today that there are a total of 286 confirmed cases in that country, the majority of them— 73, in New York, while 41 were reported in Texas and 30 in California.
 
DHS Pitts said at this morning’s press briefing that the Americas is the area where there is sustained community transmission, and so the world remains on stage 5 alert, declared by WHO, for the pandemic. (A phase 5 pandemic alert indicates that there is significant human-to-human transmission. The final stage, 6, means that there is efficient and sustained transmission.)
 
Early last week, the first case of swine flu in Central America was confirmed in a young woman, 21, who had recently arrived in that country on a flight from Mexico.
 
Pitts informed that two of six countries in Central America – one in Costa Rica and two later in El Salvador – have confirmed cases, but no country in the CAREC region has any confirmed case.
 
CAREC’s weekend update corroborated this, saying, “There have been no confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1) in any CAREC member countries. Specimens are being received from possible suspected cases. Thus far all tests have been negative for influenza A (H1N1).”
 
Other countries with reported cases of H1N1 infections are: Austria (1), Canada (101), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Colombia (1), Denmark (1), France (4), Germany (8), Ireland (1), Israel (4), Italy (2), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (6), Portugal (1), Republic of Korea (1), Spain (54), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (18).
 
According to Dr. Pitts, Mexico has reported that cases appear to be leveling off, while cases in the US and Europe appear to be increasing.
 
Each country is at a different point in the epidemic curve, and while it is welcomed news that Mexico is doing better, Belize must keep on the alert because of what is happening elsewhere, he explained.
 
“We invariably see a first wave and sometime later a second wave may come,” said Pitts. “…1918 Spanish Flu [blamed for up to 50 million deaths] demonstrated very well the massive impact of the second wave, because people have lowered their guard.”
 
The Ministry of Health has opened a hotline at 629-5604, but after receiving 126 calls on the first two days, the number of calls have “petered out,” said Pitts, while the number of hits from visitors to the official website, http://health.gov.bz, are an estimated 3,000 daily.
 
DEFINITIONS:
Suspected cases: (1) Any individual who presents signs and symptoms compatible with the flu. Such symptoms include fever, cough, headache, muscle/joint pain, diarrhea, lethargy or tiredness, nausea; and (2) Any individual who has come into contact with someone who is a confirmed case, if contact with that confirmed case took place within the infectious period, meaning one day before the onset of signs and symptoms, and up to seven days afterwards, or (3) Any individual who has traveled to an area where there are confirmed cases.
 
Cases of interest: They may have made contact with somebody who was ill, but it was not confirmed.
 
   (Provided by epidemiologist Paul Edwards, Acting Regional Manager for the Central Health Region.)

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