LA Times:::
Mexico's government is temporarily suspending all nonessential activity of the federal government and private business as the number of confirmed swine flu cases jumped.
Health Secretary Jose Cordova says nonessential federal government offices will be closed from May 1-5. He said all nonessential private businesses must also close for that period but essential services like transport, supermarkets, trash collection, hospital will remain open.Cordova told a news conference late Wednesday that confirmed swine flu cases have risen to 99, including eight dead.
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To be honest I am confused What are the True Numbers there ? and What is really going on ? And I wonder What is Non Essential Government ? The Health Dept ?
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Bloomberg asks Why is the Flu More Deadly in Mexico ( I repeat What are the true numbers in Mexico)
4 comments:
Mexico City suspends schools over flu epidemic
4.24.09
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico closed schools across this metropolis of 20 million Friday after at least 16 people died and more than 900 others fell ill from what health officials suspect is a strain of swine flu new to Mexico.
Mexico's Health Secretary Jose Cordova said officials have sent samples to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, to determine whether it's the same virus infecting seven people in Texas and California
Cordova told local media the flu is a "new, different strain ... that originally came from pigs."
Mexico's Public Health Department said tests proved that 16 died from the new strain, and about 44 other suspected cases still being were still being tested. The department put the total number of people sickened at around 943 nationwide.
Cordova described a chilling new strain that had killed only people among the normally less-vulnerable young and mid-adult age range. One possibility is that the most vulnerable segments of the population -- infants and the aged -- had been vaccinated against other strains, and that those vaccines may be providing some protection.
But Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said "at this point, we do not have any confirmations of swine influenza in Mexico" of the kind that sickened seven California and Texas residents.
All seven U.S. victims recovered from a strain of the flu that combines pig, bird and human viruses in a way that researchers have not seen before.
Cordova also told MVS radio in Mexico City that Mexican health officials can't be sure that the deaths "are from the same virus, but it is probable."
The World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland said there have been 57 deaths in Mexico, and estimated the number of total cases at over 800, spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said.
Closing the schools kept millions of students out of classes and forced their parents to scramble to juggle work and family concerns Friday -- the first citywide closure since Mexico City's devastating 1985 earthquake, according to local media.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Canada has offered Help to mexico::::
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Government of Canada to Provide Laboratory Testing Support to Government of Mexico
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 29, 2009) - Canada's Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq and Mexico's Minister of Health Dr. Jose Angel Cordova today announced that the Government of Canada has accepted the Government of Mexico's request to assist with laboratory testing of viral samples.
The Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory has already begun testing the 200 specimens from patients in Mexico with severe respiratory illness.
"In the spirit of international collaboration, and as part of our North American approach to this situation, we are pleased to assist the Government of Mexico with testing of virus samples," said Minister Aglukkaq. "This is not only an example of international collaboration. It's the right thing to do. We know by now that infectious diseases just don't respect borders, and so anything we can do to help our neighbours helps us protect our own citizens as well."
"The Mexican Government welcomes Canada's support," said Dr. Jose Angel Cordova. "We are working closely with Canada on gathering the scientific evidence necessary to help stop the spread of the virus."
For both countries, providing early scientific information is key to having an accurate and efficient response to the outbreak and to establishing effective prevention and mitigation actions.
Several Government of Canada departments including the Public Health Agency of Canada, Foreign Affairs Canada, Public Safety, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Border Services Agency, worked quickly last night to coordinate the arrival of the shipment which arrived by plane in Winnipeg.
The National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) is Canada's leading public health infectious disease laboratory, and is responsible for the identification, control and prevention of infectious diseases. It is recognized as a leading facility in an elite group of 15 centres around the world, equipped with laboratories ranging from biosafety level 2 to level 4 designed to accommodate the most basic to the most deadly infectious organisms.
Canadian and Mexican public health officials continue to monitor this situation closely in collaboration with their international partners. Additional information on this situation will be shared by each country as it becomes available.
Canadians are encouraged to access updated information on Human Swine Influenza through the Public Health Agency of Canada's website, www.phac-aspc.gc.ca or by calling 1-800-454-8302.
Telegraph UK:::
( note the numbers are changing again???)
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total of 159 people have died of pneumonia that may have been caused by the mutant H1N1 swine flu virus, Jose Cordova, the health secretary, said.
Ten of those had died in the last 24 hours.
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Argentina suspends flights from Mexico
However, there had been a substantial slowdown in the number of fatalities compared to the period from Sunday to Monday, when 46 people died in a 24-hour period, he said.
Mr Cordova said that the drop in deaths was due to people taking anti-viral drugs soon after they started displaying symptoms.
The first victims were treated with antibiotics and other flu medicine as Mexican health workers struggled to find out what was going on.
"It is crucial to treat the problem early, preferably within the first one or two days," Mr Cordova said.
Mexican authorities have also revised down the confirmed death toll from swine flu from 20 to seven. No one outside Mexico has died.
Despite the slowdown in deaths, the overall number of people hospitalised with swine flu symptoms has continued to rise
By Tuesday night, there had been a total of 2,498 taken into care with respiratory problems believed to be related to swine flu. Of these 1,311 were still bed ridden and fighting the sickness while the others had left after successfully responding to treatment.
Mr Cordova expressed hopes that the infection rate would drop in the next few days thanks to shut downs of public places including schools, cinemas, bars, museums and other spaces.
"These next few days are crucial in seeing how the virus threat will develop," he said, describing the situation as "more or less stable".
In response to the spread of the disease, Mexican authorities have banned restaurants and cafes from serving all food except take away. Schools have also been closed.
the top of of the telegraph article got cut off::::
A total of 159 people have died of pneumonia that may have been caused by the mutant H1N1 swine flu virus, Jose Cordova, the health secretary, said.
Ten of those had died in the last 24 hours.
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