The World Health Organization declared April 25 that the swine flu epidemic in Mexico constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. WHO issued a phase 3 pandemic alert, which means that “a new influenza virus subtype 
is causing disease in humans, but is not yet spreading efficiently and sustainably among humans.”
Fifty-nine deaths in Mexico City and three deaths in San Luis Potosi are suspected to have been caused by the virus, according to an April 25 notice posted on the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention Web site.
But the CDC is not warning against travel to Mexico. The notice states that: “CDC has NOT recommended that people avoid travel to Mexico at this time.”
As of April 25, the outbreak in Mexico is mainly limited to a swath of central Mexico, from San Luis Potosi to Oaxaca. Some other cases were reported near the California border. There have been no reported incidents near either of Mexico’s coasts. This
Google Map shows the location and news stories associated with each outbreak. (I can’t find the map’s source, but it offers far more complete information on the Swine Flu than the well-known HealthMap).
Emergency Directive. President Felipe Calderón responded to the flu epidemic by issuing an emergency directive allowing the government to isolate those who are suspected to have contracted the virus, inspect the homes of affected people, and cancel public events, the New York Times reported.
Perhaps in response to the warnings, Mexico City seemed to have grown quieter throughout the day. InsideMexico’s Simon Burgess started the day with a blog post noting that despite the recent closure of schools and cancellation of public events, there was still some activity taking place in the DF. When he went out for a bite to eat with his wife and friends, he saw almost no one wearing a surgical mask. Also, an art gallery opening in the DF was “swarming with people,” according to Mexicoreporter.com.
But later in the day, InsideMexico’s editor-in-chief, Aran Shetterly, left a comment on Simon Burgess’ blog post stating:
As the afternoon goes on, I would say things are MUCH quieter than normal. Many of the weekend comida hotspots around La Condesa are nearly or completely empty. Most Saturday´s Primos and La Garufa, among others, would be packed, their tables full of couples, friends and families. Walking by Primos a bit ago, it seemed that every single staff person was wearing a blue mask. Probably not a detail that is going to build an apetite in potential customers. My feeling is that the potential risk of the situation is sinking in gradually. Monday will be the real test: will be people be out and about as usual? Will businesses close? Will people stay home from work?
Another Waive of Bad News. The pandemic alert comes at a particularly bad time for Mexico, which has spent much of the year fending off media reports characterizing the country as being under a state of siege from drug-cartel violence. Things started looking more positive for the country after President Obama’s visit.
But now, the country’s flu epidemic is drawing another onslaught of negative press. The flu outbreak comes just as the country is set to host two of its largest conferences this week, InsideMexico’s Margot Lee Shetterly noted in a comment on Burgess’ blog post. Mexico’s largest tourism conference, Tianguis Turistico 2009, is set to be held April 26-29 in Acapulco. Also, the first annual Latin American Health Care Tourism Congress is planned to begin April 27 in Monterrey.
Even if the these events go off as planned, they’re likely to bring on even more media scrutiny of the Mexico’s flu woes.
Photo by joseloya (Via Creative Commons)
on Apr 26th, 2009 at 12:41 am
I’ve heard from a few different sources that there would be no vaccination for such a rare virus as the Swine Flu, I hope this isn’t the case