Toofan
04-27-2009, 08:33 PM
(CNN) -- Seventy-three cases of swine flu have been confirmed worldwide, the World Health Organization said Monday.
A man wearing a protective mask reads a newspaper Sunday outside a hospital in Mexico City.
A man wearing a protective mask reads a newspaper Sunday outside a hospital in Mexico City.
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Forty of those cases are in the United States, 26 in Mexico, six in Canada and one in Spain, a WHO representative said.
Later Monday, health officials in Scotland said two cases of swine flu had been confirmed there.
Hundreds more cases are suspected, especially in Mexico, where as many as 103 deaths are thought to have been caused by the virus, the country's health minister said. More than 2,000 cases have been reported but not confirmed in the country.
Federal officials confirmed 20 new U.S. cases on Monday.
A federal official said they were at the same school in New York in which eight U.S. cases were confirmed earlier. More than 100 students at the school were out with flu-like symptoms last week.
The outbreak is a particular concern because of who it is hitting hard, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.
"We are concerned that in Mexico, most of those who died were young and healthy adults," he said. Video Watch Mexican officials discuss flu plan »
President Obama said Monday that the swine flu outbreak is a "cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert," but is not a "cause for alarm."
He added that the federal government is closely monitoring emerging cases and had declared a public health emergency as a "precautionary tool to ensure that we have the resources we need at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively."
Meanwhile, the European Union's health commissioner Monday called on people to avoid traveling to both the United States and Mexico, which seems to be the epicenter of the outbreak.
Swine influenza, or flu, is a contagious respiratory disease that affects pigs. It is caused by a type-A influenza virus. Outbreaks in pigs occur year-round. The current strain is a new variation of an H1N1 virus, which is a mix of human and animal versions.
When the flu spreads person-to-person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to treat or fight off because people have no natural immunity.
The symptoms are similar to the common flu. They include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
The virus spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes around another person. People can become infected by touching something with the flu virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes.
The WHO has called the outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern."
Researchers are trying to determine how easily it can jump from person to person. And Keiji Fukuda, WHO's assistant director-general, said it was too early to predict whether there will be a mild or serious pandemic.
The cases confirmed in the U.S. and Mexico were enough of a concern for Andorra Vassiliou, the European Union's health commissioner, to recommend against travel to North America.
People "should avoid traveling to Mexico or the USA unless it is very urgent for them," Vassiliou said.
Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Vassiliou's warning was "not warranted."
In Mexico, authorities closed all schools until at least May 6 because of the virus.
They are considering whether to suspend other public activities but are analyzing what economic effects could result, Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordoba Villalobos said.
"The number of cases, unfortunately, will continue to increase," he said.
Officials have talked about shutting down the bus and subway system, and incoming international passengers at the country's airports are asked on a form whether they have various symptoms that might indicate that they're carrying the virus.
Mexican Finance Minister Augustin Carstens said Sunday that the World Bank was lending his country $205 million to deal with the outbreak.
In Washington, the government declared a public health emergency -- a step Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said, "sounds more severe that really it is."
"This is standard operating procedure and allows us to free up federal state and local agencies and their resources for prevention and mitigation," she said.
Meanwhile, Israel and New Zealand were investigating unconfirmed cases of swine flu.
Concerns about the virus prompted Canada to issue a travel health notice, and South Korea to say it will test airline passengers arriving from the United States.
Japan is expected to convene a Cabinet meeting Monday to come up with measures to block the entry of the virus into the country.
In New Zealand, officials said 22 students and three teachers, who returned from a three-week-long language trip to Mexico, might have been infected. The group remains quarantined at home, and Health Minister Tony Ryall said 10 students tested positive for influenza A -- the general category of strains that includes the H1N1 swine flu.
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In Spain, six people -- all recently returned from Mexico -- were being isolated in hospitals, the country's Health Ministry said. Lab tests confirmed that one of the cases had tested positive. And in Israel, doctors are running tests on a man who recently returned from Mexico with light flu symptoms. iReport.com: Do you think we should be worried about swine flu?
In 1968, a "Hong Kong" flu pandemic killed about 1 million people worldwide. And in 1918, a "Spanish" flu pandemic killed as many as 100 million people
A man wearing a protective mask reads a newspaper Sunday outside a hospital in Mexico City.
A man wearing a protective mask reads a newspaper Sunday outside a hospital in Mexico City.
Click to view previous image
1 of 3
Click to view next image
more photos »
Forty of those cases are in the United States, 26 in Mexico, six in Canada and one in Spain, a WHO representative said.
Later Monday, health officials in Scotland said two cases of swine flu had been confirmed there.
Hundreds more cases are suspected, especially in Mexico, where as many as 103 deaths are thought to have been caused by the virus, the country's health minister said. More than 2,000 cases have been reported but not confirmed in the country.
Federal officials confirmed 20 new U.S. cases on Monday.
A federal official said they were at the same school in New York in which eight U.S. cases were confirmed earlier. More than 100 students at the school were out with flu-like symptoms last week.
The outbreak is a particular concern because of who it is hitting hard, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.
"We are concerned that in Mexico, most of those who died were young and healthy adults," he said. Video Watch Mexican officials discuss flu plan »
President Obama said Monday that the swine flu outbreak is a "cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert," but is not a "cause for alarm."
He added that the federal government is closely monitoring emerging cases and had declared a public health emergency as a "precautionary tool to ensure that we have the resources we need at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively."
Meanwhile, the European Union's health commissioner Monday called on people to avoid traveling to both the United States and Mexico, which seems to be the epicenter of the outbreak.
Swine influenza, or flu, is a contagious respiratory disease that affects pigs. It is caused by a type-A influenza virus. Outbreaks in pigs occur year-round. The current strain is a new variation of an H1N1 virus, which is a mix of human and animal versions.
When the flu spreads person-to-person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to treat or fight off because people have no natural immunity.
The symptoms are similar to the common flu. They include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
The virus spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes around another person. People can become infected by touching something with the flu virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes.
The WHO has called the outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern."
Researchers are trying to determine how easily it can jump from person to person. And Keiji Fukuda, WHO's assistant director-general, said it was too early to predict whether there will be a mild or serious pandemic.
The cases confirmed in the U.S. and Mexico were enough of a concern for Andorra Vassiliou, the European Union's health commissioner, to recommend against travel to North America.
People "should avoid traveling to Mexico or the USA unless it is very urgent for them," Vassiliou said.
Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Vassiliou's warning was "not warranted."
In Mexico, authorities closed all schools until at least May 6 because of the virus.
They are considering whether to suspend other public activities but are analyzing what economic effects could result, Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordoba Villalobos said.
"The number of cases, unfortunately, will continue to increase," he said.
Officials have talked about shutting down the bus and subway system, and incoming international passengers at the country's airports are asked on a form whether they have various symptoms that might indicate that they're carrying the virus.
Mexican Finance Minister Augustin Carstens said Sunday that the World Bank was lending his country $205 million to deal with the outbreak.
In Washington, the government declared a public health emergency -- a step Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said, "sounds more severe that really it is."
"This is standard operating procedure and allows us to free up federal state and local agencies and their resources for prevention and mitigation," she said.
Meanwhile, Israel and New Zealand were investigating unconfirmed cases of swine flu.
Concerns about the virus prompted Canada to issue a travel health notice, and South Korea to say it will test airline passengers arriving from the United States.
Japan is expected to convene a Cabinet meeting Monday to come up with measures to block the entry of the virus into the country.
In New Zealand, officials said 22 students and three teachers, who returned from a three-week-long language trip to Mexico, might have been infected. The group remains quarantined at home, and Health Minister Tony Ryall said 10 students tested positive for influenza A -- the general category of strains that includes the H1N1 swine flu.
advertisement
In Spain, six people -- all recently returned from Mexico -- were being isolated in hospitals, the country's Health Ministry said. Lab tests confirmed that one of the cases had tested positive. And in Israel, doctors are running tests on a man who recently returned from Mexico with light flu symptoms. iReport.com: Do you think we should be worried about swine flu?
In 1968, a "Hong Kong" flu pandemic killed about 1 million people worldwide. And in 1918, a "Spanish" flu pandemic killed as many as 100 million people