Asian health officials went on alert yesterday as a flu strain that has killed up to 81 people in Mexico appeared to have spread to New Zealand, underscoring warnings of a potential pandemic.
Governments across the region, which has in recent years been at the forefront of the SARS and bird flu epidemics, stepped up checks at airports and urged the public to be on guard for symptoms of the new multi-strain flu.
Mexicans took new precautions yesterday amid fears that the flu epidemic could reach “pandemic” proportions. Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova raised the probable death toll from the new multi-strain swine flu in Mexico to 81, including 20 already confirmed.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Earlier, Mexican President Felipe Calderon published an order giving his government extraordinary powers to tackle the deadly outbreak, as at least two new cases were reported in the US, bringing the total infected there to 10.
“This virus has clearly a pandemic potential,” WHO Director General Margaret Chan (陳馮富珍) said on Saturday.
The Geneva-based UN agency branded the outbreak “a public health emergency of international concern,” following a meeting of its emergency committee. In a statement it said it was recommending that all nations “intensify surveillance for unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness and severe pneumonia.”
In Taipei, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued an outbreak notice listing Mexico’s alert level “epidemic.” California and Texas in the US were listed as “limited clustering” areas.
“The priority is to prohibit the disease from entering the country,” Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said.
“Visitors from Mexico and the United States, including homecoming Taiwanese, found to have fever and flu symptoms will be sent to special hospitals for isolation, pending virus inspection,” Shih said.
The centers have also notified airlines to pay special attention to passengers’ health. It said it is keeping a close watch on the situation through the WHO. Officials warned those traveling to the US and Mexico to take special precautions by frequently washing their hands, wearing face masks and avoiding coming into contact with people who appear to be sick. If symptoms such as diarrhea fever, coughing or body aches occur, consult a doctor immediately.
In Mexico, 13 new suspect cases were reported in the past 24 hours and a total of 1,324 patients with flu symptoms were under investigation, Cordova said.
Officials have canceled hundreds of public events and closed schools for millions of students in and around the capital. Sunday mass was suspended in Catholic churches throughout the country.
Mexico City authorities have said they had more than 1 million doses of suitable antiviral drugs, in an urban area of some 20 million. The government also assured citizens it had “sufficient” funds reaching US$450 million to combat the epidemic.
Kansas authorities confirmed two cases of swine flu on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the US to at least 10.
In Wellington, New Zealand Health Minister Tony Ryall said 10 teenagers who had recently traveled to Mexico have tested positive for influenza and are “likely” to have contracted swine flu.
Ryall said samples from the infected students had been sent to a WHO laboratory in Melbourne to determine whether they had contracted H1N1 swine influenza. They already tested positive for influenza A, of which swine flu is a sub-set.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHELLEY HUANG
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