Swine flu spreads to Middle East, Asia-Pacific

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-28 20:51

Residents are seen at the US-Mexico border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, April 27, 2009. [Agencies]

The World Health Organization raised the alert level to Phase 4, meaning there is sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus causing outbreaks in at least one country. Monday was the first time it has ever been raised above Phase 3.

Putting an alert at Phases 4 or 5 signals that the virus is becoming increasingly adept at spreading among humans. Phase 6 is for a full-blown pandemic, characterized by outbreaks in at least two regions of the world.

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Swine Flu Outbreak

Fifty cases — none fatal and most of them mild — were confirmed in the United States. Including the New Zealand, Israeli and new Spanish reports, there were 92 confirmed cases worldwide on Tuesday. That included six in Canada, one in Spain and two in Scotland.

Symptoms include a fever of more than 100, coughing, joint aches, severe headache and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea.

Amid the alarm, there was a spot of good news. The number of new cases reported by Mexico's largest government hospitals has been declining the past three days, Cordova said, from 141 on Saturday to 119 on Sunday and 110 Monday.

In a bid to prevent mass contagion, Mexico canceled school nationwide until May 6, and the Mexico City government is considering a complete shutdown, including all public transportation. The Cinco de Mayo parade celebrating Mexico's defeat of a French army on May 5, 1862 and Mexico City's traditional May 1 parade were canceled. More than 100 museums nationwide were closed.

At Mexico City's international airport, families grimly waited for flights out of the capital or country, determined to keep their masks on until they touched ground somewhere else.

Three games involving Mexico City soccer clubs were played with no spectators over the weekend. Decio de Maria, secretary general of the Mexican soccer federation, said plans for future matches would be announced on Wednesday.

"The idea is to look for the fewest number of games that have to be played behind closed doors," he said. "If it's necessary, we'll play all the matches behind closed doors. We don't foresee canceling any games."

Many residents of Mexico City wore blue surgical masks, though the CDC said most masks offer little protection. Many victims have been in their 30s and 40s — not the very old or young who typically succumb to the flu. So far, no deaths from the new virus have been reported outside Mexico.

It could take four to six months before the first batch of vaccines are available, WHO officials said. Some antiflu drugs do work once someone is sick.

Napolitano, the US Homeland Security chief, said Washington is dispatching people and equipment to affected areas and stepping up information-sharing at all levels of government and with other nations.

Richard Besser, the CDC's acting director, said his agency is aggressively looking for evidence of the disease spreading and probing for ways to control and prevent it.

Flu deaths are nothing new in the United States. The CDC estimates that about 36,000 people died of flu-related causes each year, on average, during the 1990s in the United States. But the new flu strain is a combination of pig, bird and human viruses that humans may have no natural immunity to.

Besser said that so far the virus in the United States seems less severe than in Mexico. Only one person has been hospitalized in the US

"I wouldn't be overly reassured by that," Besser told reporters at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, sounding a cautionary note.

The best way to keep the disease from spreading, Besser said, is by taking everyday precautions such as frequent handwashing, covering up coughs and sneezes, and staying away from work or school if not feeling well.

WHO spokesman Peter Cordingley singled out air travel as an easy way the virus could spread, noting that the WHO estimates that up to 500,000 people are on planes at any time.

Governments in Asia — with memories of previous flu outbreaks — were especially cautious. Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines dusted off thermal scanners used in the 2003 SARS crisis and were checking for signs of fever among passengers from North America. South Korea, India and Indonesia also announced screening.

Teams of doctors, nurses and government officials boarded flights arriving in Japan from Mexico, the US and Canada to check passengers for signs of the flu, Japanese Health Ministry official Akimori Mizuguchi said.

World stock markets fell Tuesday as investors worried that any swine flu pandemic could derail a global economic recovery.

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