More states hit by flu as cases surpass 5,000
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Daily News with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 13, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The number of global swine flu cases passes 5,000, according to the WHO, as the virus spreads to three more nations in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The new strain could have sickened 23,000 people in Mexico alone before anyone realized it was an epidemic, shows a study
The swine flu virus spread to more countries yesterday as scientists estimated the new strain could have sickened 23,000 people in Mexico alone before anyone realized it was an epidemic.
Three more countries reported their first cases of the H1N1 virus as worldwide cases passed 5,000, according to the World Health Organization. The highest number of cases has been reported in the U.S. with 2,600 infections, including three deaths, and Mexico with 2,059 cases, including 56 deaths. The global total stood at 5,251, according to the WHO latest data.
Thailand's first two cases were yesterday confirmed in patients who had traveled to Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak. Finland confirmed its first two cases of swine flu while Cuba had earlier reported its first case in a Mexican student, one of a group of 14 Mexicans studying in Havana who were tested for the disease, according to the health ministry. Former Cuban President Fidel Castro accused Mexico of hiding the epidemic until after President Barack Obama visited last month.
"Mexican authorities did not inform the world of the presence (of swine flu), while they waited for Obama's visit," he wrote on a government Web site hours after Cuba confirmed its first case. Obama's April 16 visit came a week before Mexican officials announced swine flu was spreading, prompting an eventual mass shutdown that brought many parts of the country to a virtual halt.
Attention was most focused on China, where authorities confirmed that a 30-year-old man was hospitalized with the virus after arriving in the southwestern city of Chengdu on a flight from the United States. "This is our country's first case of H1N1," Chinese health ministry spokesman Mao Qunan said Monday. Beijing yesterday ordered stepped up flu monitoring nationwide and said it had found and isolated nearly all those who traveled on flights with the man. China had previously confirmed a case, a Mexican national, in the semi-autonomous Hong Kong.
Many more cases
A study published Monday in the journal Science estimated Mexico alone may have had 23,000 cases of swine flu by April 23, the day it announced the epidemic. The study estimates swine flu kills between 0.4 percent and 1.4 percent of its victims, but lead author Neil Ferguson of Imperial College, London, said the data remain incomplete. "It's very difficult to quantify the human health impact at this stage," he said.
The analysis in Science suggests there are many more cases than those confirmed by laboratories - anywhere from 6,000 to 32,000 cases in Mexico as of April 23. The flu has since spread around the world, and the study said it appears to be substantially more contagious than normal, seasonal flu.
Re-
searchers also compared the genetic sequences of the viruses in 23 confirmed cases, and came up with an estimate of Jan. 12 for their earliest common ancestor - presumably when person-to-person transmission began. But they said it could have been anywhere from Nov. 3 to March 2.
The researchers said the 2009 H1N1 flu appears to be about equal in severity to the flu of 1957 and less severe than the deadly 1918 version.
Meanwhile, the WHO defended its decision to raise the global pandemic alarm for swine flu following the outbreak of new influenza H1N1 last month.
The global health body's acting Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda insisted the outbreak would have been more severe if the WHO had not raised its pandemic alert two weeks ago. "If countries had not been thinking about what to do in this kind of situation, the fact is we would have had much more confusion," Fukuda said.
"In many ways, the severity would have been greater."
The WHO raised its alert to five on a scale of six two weeks ago, signaling that a pandemic was "imminent" after Mexico and the United States showed sustained local transmission of the influenza H1N1 virus.
In Mexico, Monday's reopening of kindergartens and primary and middle schools shut since April 24 was the latest step in efforts to restore a sense of normality. Businesses, government services, high schools and universities reopened last week.
But while officials praised the health and education systems for their response to the crisis, there were signs that Mexico's overburdened health system was under strain. Dozens of government health care workers, including doctors and nurses, marched and blocked streets in the Gulf coast city of Jalapa to demand higher pay and better working conditions. "The government asked our help in combating the influenza epidemic, now we are asking the government to do us justice," said nurse Mariana Cortes, one of the protest organizers.
Mexico is trying to revive its economy after the epidemic pummeled tourism, the country's third-largest source of legal foreign income. Mexico provided details Monday of a $1.1 billion package to help restaurants, hotels and other businesses. At least 10 banks are involved in the plan, promising three-month reprieves for small businesses with outstanding loans in Mexico City and two hard-hit states. Small businesses in tourist destinations were promised a six-month grace period.
Three more countries reported their first cases of the H1N1 virus as worldwide cases passed 5,000, according to the World Health Organization. The highest number of cases has been reported in the U.S. with 2,600 infections, including three deaths, and Mexico with 2,059 cases, including 56 deaths. The global total stood at 5,251, according to the WHO latest data.
Thailand's first two cases were yesterday confirmed in patients who had traveled to Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak. Finland confirmed its first two cases of swine flu while Cuba had earlier reported its first case in a Mexican student, one of a group of 14 Mexicans studying in Havana who were tested for the disease, according to the health ministry. Former Cuban President Fidel Castro accused Mexico of hiding the epidemic until after President Barack Obama visited last month.
"Mexican authorities did not inform the world of the presence (of swine flu), while they waited for Obama's visit," he wrote on a government Web site hours after Cuba confirmed its first case. Obama's April 16 visit came a week before Mexican officials announced swine flu was spreading, prompting an eventual mass shutdown that brought many parts of the country to a virtual halt.
Attention was most focused on China, where authorities confirmed that a 30-year-old man was hospitalized with the virus after arriving in the southwestern city of Chengdu on a flight from the United States. "This is our country's first case of H1N1," Chinese health ministry spokesman Mao Qunan said Monday. Beijing yesterday ordered stepped up flu monitoring nationwide and said it had found and isolated nearly all those who traveled on flights with the man. China had previously confirmed a case, a Mexican national, in the semi-autonomous Hong Kong.
Many more cases
A study published Monday in the journal Science estimated Mexico alone may have had 23,000 cases of swine flu by April 23, the day it announced the epidemic. The study estimates swine flu kills between 0.4 percent and 1.4 percent of its victims, but lead author Neil Ferguson of Imperial College, London, said the data remain incomplete. "It's very difficult to quantify the human health impact at this stage," he said.
The analysis in Science suggests there are many more cases than those confirmed by laboratories - anywhere from 6,000 to 32,000 cases in Mexico as of April 23. The flu has since spread around the world, and the study said it appears to be substantially more contagious than normal, seasonal flu.
Re-
searchers also compared the genetic sequences of the viruses in 23 confirmed cases, and came up with an estimate of Jan. 12 for their earliest common ancestor - presumably when person-to-person transmission began. But they said it could have been anywhere from Nov. 3 to March 2.
The researchers said the 2009 H1N1 flu appears to be about equal in severity to the flu of 1957 and less severe than the deadly 1918 version.
Meanwhile, the WHO defended its decision to raise the global pandemic alarm for swine flu following the outbreak of new influenza H1N1 last month.
The global health body's acting Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda insisted the outbreak would have been more severe if the WHO had not raised its pandemic alert two weeks ago. "If countries had not been thinking about what to do in this kind of situation, the fact is we would have had much more confusion," Fukuda said.
"In many ways, the severity would have been greater."
The WHO raised its alert to five on a scale of six two weeks ago, signaling that a pandemic was "imminent" after Mexico and the United States showed sustained local transmission of the influenza H1N1 virus.
In Mexico, Monday's reopening of kindergartens and primary and middle schools shut since April 24 was the latest step in efforts to restore a sense of normality. Businesses, government services, high schools and universities reopened last week.
But while officials praised the health and education systems for their response to the crisis, there were signs that Mexico's overburdened health system was under strain. Dozens of government health care workers, including doctors and nurses, marched and blocked streets in the Gulf coast city of Jalapa to demand higher pay and better working conditions. "The government asked our help in combating the influenza epidemic, now we are asking the government to do us justice," said nurse Mariana Cortes, one of the protest organizers.
Mexico is trying to revive its economy after the epidemic pummeled tourism, the country's third-largest source of legal foreign income. Mexico provided details Monday of a $1.1 billion package to help restaurants, hotels and other businesses. At least 10 banks are involved in the plan, promising three-month reprieves for small businesses with outstanding loans in Mexico City and two hard-hit states. Small businesses in tourist destinations were promised a six-month grace period.