Schools in all Mexican states closed, public gatherings banned until early May as death toll rises to 152; cases confirmed in six other countries, including United States; WHO warns containment “not a feasible option”
At press time tonight, some 152 persons are suspected to have died in connection with the epidemic of swine influenza type A (H1N1) in Belize’s northern neighbour, Mexico. Almost 2,000 cases of suspected swine flu have been reported and treated, according to a release of a speech by Mexican Health Minister, Dr. Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos, on Monday afternoon in Mexico City.
And with confirmed reports that cases have extended as far south as northern Quintana Roo, the Mexican state bordering Belize, our nation of 300,000, remains on alert tonight.
Indeed, late breaking information first reported by local media and since confirmed by Amandala is that three persons showing symptoms of influenza, one each in San Pedro Town, Belize City and Orange Walk Town, have been treated and sent home to recuperate, though their cases remain “under investigation” for the possibility of swine flu.
Late this evening, just before press time, we reached the CEO in the Belize Ministry of Health, Dr. Peter Allen, who confirmed the reports and assured us that all three patients appear to be “fine.”
Admitting that the situation the world faces with regard to swine flu is “dynamic,” Dr. Allen nonetheless reiterated that Belize would remain on watch – at the borders and in the hospitals – ready to ensure that should another case crop up, Belize would be ready to fight it.
Belizean officials remain on high alert and are asking Belizeans to do the same.
A teleconference meeting was held this afternoon between representatives of the PAHO/WHO and other stakeholders in the current crisis. Dr. Beverly Barnett, Belize’s country representative to PAHO/WHO, told Amandala this evening that the meeting mainly rehashed concerns about drug distribution, travel issues and other concerns; countries who had questions for the WHO reps were given guidance specific to their situation.
As for the report about cases of about two dozen cases of suspected swine flu in Quintana Roo, Dr. Barnett told Amandala that Mexico’s representative at the meeting, Dr. Jose Angel Cordova, made no mention of such a report; according to Marcelino Miranda of the Mexican Embassy in Belmopan, however, 22 suspected cases were reported in the Quintana Roo area as of Monday, but 15 (reports say 17) have already been cleared and the others are still being tested, with no confirmations of swine flu at this time.
Meanwhile, Belize’s Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) sought today to deflate concerns over whether it was safe to handle and eat pig meat, reiterating that the name of the disease does not mean it can easily be caught from exposure to pigs, unless the pigs are sick.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has announced that the weekend National and Agriculture Trade Show remains “on”, and would only be cancelled if cases started to show up in Belize.
At the northern border and Corozal Free Zone, measures are in place to turn back those with symptoms of the disease and screen others for treatment. Most workers there are using protective facemasks and gloves as they go about their work, but according to CEO Raul Rosado, the fear level in the Zone is mostly at “concerned.”
Rosado told local media that an education campaign had been in place since Saturday to sensitize businessmen and other stakeholders about the dangers of the disease, and so far, he has seen nothing to necessitate shutting down the Free Zone. “It is business as usual,” he said.
Yesterday, Mexican authorities sought to likewise reassure listeners that they, too, were on top of their admittedly more difficult situation.
Dr. Cordova reported that of the 1,995 persons who reported symptoms of serious pneumonia as of Monday – all not necessarily being cases of swine flu – 56.3%, or 1,070, have been treated and released, while a further 776 remain hospitalized. 152 persons have died as a result of their symptoms, but according to multiple international sources, only 20 laboratory-confirmed cases of this strain of influenza are present in Mexico, and 7 persons have died specifically from this strain of influenza.
Dr. Cordova is quoted as saying that Mexico will set up laboratories to confirm more cases and announced that 2,373 samples have been tested since the start of the health crisis. Tests on the 149 persons who have died to confirm the presence of swine flu are “underway”, Dr. Cordova said, with the support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Its Ministry of Education suspended school activity throughout Mexico until May 6 as a precaution, while the organization responsible for managing the distribution of the life-saving medicines used to treat symptoms had their permits ready. Use of the drugs would be strictly controlled to prevent overuse, and therefore resistance to the drug.
Dr. Cordova also endorsed other preventative measures, such as the wearing of surgical facemasks and consistent washing of hands. “We must acknowledge that we are at the peak of the epidemic and that the number of cases will unfortunately continue to increase, for which reason we will reinforce all prevention and care measures necessary for its contention,” he concluded.
Director General of the WHO, Margaret Chan, after meeting with the Emergency Committee on Monday, formally raised the global pandemic alert level to Phase 4, two phases short of a full-fledged pandemic.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), WHO deputy chief and spokesman Dr. Kenji Fukuda today warned that the virus “can no longer be contained and countries should focus on mitigating its effects,” adding that the raising of the level was a “significant step toward pandemic influenza,” but insisting that a pandemic was not “inevitable.” A possible vaccine could be available in four to six months, according to Dr. Fukuda, with mass production needing more time. The WHO’s spokesman, Gregory Hartl, later confirmed this.
The BBC reports 64 cases confirmed in the United States, where President Barack Obama has asked Congress for US$1.5 billion in funding to prepare for a possible outbreak, but no deaths. President Obama had said earlier that the outbreak was cause for “concern, but not alarm,” despite Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano declaring a public health emergency on Sunday afternoon, which the Washington Post said in a Monday editorial would free up federal aid to affected states. The cases in the U.S. are primarily centered in California and New York.
St. Francis Academy, a private school in Queens, New York, reported as many as 28 cases in students who had traveled to Mexico recently, and thus the school will be closed until the end of the week, according to the New York Times; in California, where there have been 11 cases reported, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency as a precautionary measure.
The Associated Press (AP) quotes the CDC’s acting director, Richard Besser, and Secretary Napolitano as saying today that it was “likely” that deaths would result from this infection in the United States.
Earlier this week, concerns were raised that President Obama himself might be infected, after reports that a guide on his recent trip to Mexico died from symptoms suspected to be similar to those of swine flu. The Washington Post quotes White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs as denying that Obama had ever been infected; according to the Houston Chronicle, family members of the dead guide denied that he had died from swine flu.
13 cases have been confirmed in Canada; 3 in New Zealand; 2 each in the U.K., Spain and Israel; and at least one each in Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Australia, South Korea, and seven members of the European Union (EU). No deaths have been reported outside of Mexico.
Mexico City today banned restaurants and cafes from serving all food except takeaways.
The BBC reports that the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) will send a team of investigators to Mexico to check reports that industrial pig farms there were the source of the current strain of the virus.
The New York Times reported today that Mexico’s first confirmed case of swine flu was a 5-year-old boy living in Perote, Veracruz state, who showed mild symptoms and recovered. The boy allegedly caught it from exposure to pigs at a farm in the village, which is partly owned by an American company. The company has denied that any of its workers are sick, or that the boy was related to a plant worker.
While it considers it imperative that potential victims be identified, the WHO has argued against wholesale border restrictions and travel bans, saying they do not work. Nonetheless, according to the BBC, countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe, including Cuba, are screening passengers from Mexico and (in Cuba’s case) halting travel for 48 hours to the embattled country, which also suffered a 5.8 earthquake on Monday afternoon near Acapulco.
While China, Russia and Ukraine have banned pork imports from Mexico and parts of the US since the start of the epidemic, the experts say that cleaned and sanitized pork meat is safe to eat and in any event, the term “swine flu” refers to pigs as the host of the virus, not as the cause.
Humans who handle and come into contact with sickened pigs normally catch swine flu, which comes in various forms and occurs in countries that rear pigs. The CDC reports that they may alter the name of the disease as a result of this wrong impression; according to the New York Times, the names “Mexican flu” and “North American flu” have been suggested. A statement on the Mexican government website proclaimed the country’s meat exports from local pig farms “totally reliable.”
(Amandala would like to thank Press Officer in the Mexican Embassy to Belize, Marcelino Miranda, for his assistance in gathering information about events in Mexico over the last few days.)