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Swine Flu spreads around the globe

Global Arab Network - - Maha Karim

Friday, 01 May 2009 01:16

British Health officials fear they have discovered the first case of someone catching swine flu within the UK, it emerged last night, as the number of confirmed cases in this country reached eight. The "probable" case of domestic transmission involves a man who was in close contact with Iain and Dawn Askham, the Scottish couple who became the first confirmed British cases after returning from their honeymoon in Cancún, Mexico, with the virus.

Dr Harry Burns, Scotland's chief medical officer, said the new British patient was "probably more likely than less likely" to have swine flu because of his contact with the couple and the fact that influenza A viruses are rare at this time of year. He is being treated at home with the antiviral drug Tamiflu.

Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish health secretary, said: "The circumstances around this person give us cause for concern. And that's why he's being treated as probable. That would be the first case of onward transmission from one of the original Mexico cases."

The latest confirmed cases involve a woman in Newcastle upon Tyne and two people in London. All eight confirmed cases contracted the flu in Mexico and have shown relatively mild symptoms after treatment with antiviral drugs.(guardian)

Netherlands has confirmed its first case of H1N1 as concern mounts over the speed at which the virus is spreading around the globe.

A three-year-old child, who recently arrived back from Mexico, is receiving treatment and recovering well, the Dutch government said on Thursday.

The case was reported hours after the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that the world is on the brink of a pandemic, saying "all humanity is under threat".

EU governments failed last night to agree on pooling medical resources to combat the flu, and rejected French calls for a blanket ban on air travel to Mexico. The emergency meeting in Luxembourg of health ministers from the 27 countries in the EU agreed to coordinate policies and efforts, but indicated this amounted merely to sharing information on monitoring the speed of the virus's spread.

France urged the EU to suspend all flights to Mexico, the "zero ground" of swine flu where the deadly virus was believed to have killed more than 170 people and sickened over 2,500 others.

But the EU ministers didn't agree at the meeting on the proposal, nor did they issue any travel warning against Mexico, as most of the countries have doubted the effectiveness of such a ban in containing the further spread of the flu.

"In Spain, we consider that it is not a useful step for the time being. From a technical point of view, it is absolutely not useful," said Spanish Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez. "We have to wait and see what is the evolution of the disease before taking such a drastic measure."

"If you believe you can achieve anything by banning flights to or from Mexico to Germany, you underestimate that in the mobile world, people also go to Venezuela -- or they fly in over the United States," echoed German Health Minister Ulla Schmidt. "A flight ban would have to go much further."

Asked whether France would impose its own flight ban against Mexico at a press conference after the meeting, Czech Health Minister Daniela Filipiova said that she did not see the possibility that France would adopt such a "radical approach."

She stressed that "any (EU) reaction" to the disease "will continue to be a common one" and any actions taken among the 27 member nations "should be in a coordinated manner."

U.S. swine flu cases rise to 109

The number of confirmed human swine flu cases in the United States has risen to 109, including a Mexican toddler who became the first fatality from swine flu in the country, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Thursday. Meanwhile, the Education Department said nearly 300 schools around the country have been closed amid concerns about the fast spreading of the swine flu.

According to data posted on CDC's website, the states with confirmed cases are: Arizona (1), California (14), Indiana (1), Kansas (2), Massachusetts (2), Michigan (1), Nevada (1), New York (50), Ohio (1), South Carolina (10) and Texas (26). South Carolinahas confirmed 10 new cases, it said.

A 23-month old Mexican child in Texas has died of swine flu, the CDC said Wednesday. The child is the first to die of the deadly flu outside of Mexico where the virus has caused more than 159 deaths and roughly 2,500 illnesses.

Officials from the Education Department said on Thursday that 298 schools in 11 states have been closed amid concerns about swine flu, which will affect about 172,000 students. Most of the schools will be closed for a few days.

A top official at the CDC said schools should close if they have a confirmed flu case, or they strongly suspect one. The schools that have been closed are still a small share of the 132,000 nationwide.

U.S. President Barack Obama also said Wednesday that closures of schools in some instances may be necessary, especially in cases of confirmed infections.

It is the recommendation of public health officials "that schools with confirmed cases ... should consider closing if the situation becomes more serious," Obama said in remarks at the White House before leaving on a trip to Missouri.

Obama said the U.S. government are "closely and continuously monitoring the emergent cases of this virus throughout the United States."

"This is obviously a serious situation. Serious enough to take the utmost precautions," he said. (Xinhua)

Mexico begins shutting dow

Mexico began shutting down all non-essential work and services on Thursday to slow the spread of a new flu strain as officials urged increased worldwide precautions against an imminent pandemic.

In Mexico, the worst hit country with up to 176 deaths, President Felipe Calderon told government offices and private businesses not crucial to the economy to stop work beginning on Friday.

"There is no safer place than your own home to avoid being infected with the flu virus," Calderon said in his first televised address since the outbreak started.

In Mexico City, where the virus has already brought public life to a standstill, some were skeptical while others vowed not to take part in the shutdown.

"Closing businesses is not right and not fair. What are we going to live on? Air?" said Andres Garcia, who works in a tailor shop in the old colonial center of the capital.

Mexico's assembly-for-export factories known as maquiladoras, a pillar of the economy, and some of the country's mines said they would defy the shutdown call.

With its tourism industry savaged, shoppers staying home and exports to the United States in steep decline, Mexico could find itself in the longest, deepest recession it has seen in years, according to analysts. (Reuters)

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