Governments yesterday braced their populations for a grim battle with swine flu after the WHO stepped up its global alert and said that a pandemic is imminent.
Amid warnings that more deaths are inevitable, governments launched publicity campaigns, while France pressed calls for a ban on flights to Mexico and Italy urged the EU to stockpile vaccines.
New swine flu cases were confirmed in Switzerland and Peru, meaning there are now more than 150 confirmed cases in 11 countries outside Mexico where the death toll has been revised down to 84. One child has also died in the US.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan (陳馮富珍) said the WHO alert was being raised to five on a 1-6 scale — meaning a pandemic threat was imminent.
“All countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans,” Chan said. “The biggest question right now is how severe the pandemic might be.”
Swine flu is believed to be a new strain that combines bird, swine and common human influenza. It has rapidly brought Mexico to a virtual standstill and made its way around the world forcing governments to step up efforts to halt the spread.
France pushed for a ban on flights to Mexico, and Italy urged Europe to stockpile vaccines as EU health ministers held an emergency meeting in Luxembourg.
The French proposal has so far found little public support among other European governments but Italy has now called on EU partners to set up a “strategic stockpile of antivirals and vaccines.”
Britain, where there are five confirmed cases including a honeymoon couple and a 12-year-old girl, launched a mass public information campaign yesterday over the swine flu threat.
Adverts on television, radio and in newspapers stressed the need to take basic hygiene precautions such as using tissues and washing hands.
Mexico has shut down public venues — including popular tourist sites as well as all restaurants, bars and gyms in the capital — while major cruise lines and tour operators have halted trips to the country.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon urged Mexicans in a televised address to stay home during a five-day holiday weekend that starts today.
“There is no place as safe for protecting yourself against swine flu as your own home,” he said.
Mexican officials said eight people were confirmed dead while 91 infected people were healthy. They said the suspected death toll from the disease was 84, about half the previous number.
The only confirmed death outside Mexico was a Mexican toddler in the US, officials announced on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately I would anticipate that we will see additional deaths,” said Richard Besser, acting head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
US President Barack Obama ruled out closing the border between the two countries as part of measures to fight the spread of the illness.
“It would be akin to closing the barn door after the horses are out, because we already have cases here in the United States,” Obama told a news conference.
In New Zealand, officials said the number of confirmed or probable cases was now 16 — three confirmed — and that the number of suspected cases was at 111.
Switzerland became the fifth European country to confirm the virus, with one case in a man recently returned from Mexico. There are also cases in Austria, Britain, Germany, Spain and Peru.
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