Deadly New Flu Virus

[Guest east539]

Do take care everyone.

from ST:

Mexico City - A new strain of flu that has killed as many as 68 people in Mexico has had health officials scrambling to avert a possible global outbreak.

As the Mexican government axed public events and shut schools, libraries and cinemas, World Health Organisation (WHO) experts were dispatched to Mexico.

More than 1,000 people there, and eight in the United States, are suspected to be down with that strain of flu.

WHO director-general Margaret Chan warned yesterday that the new multi-strain swine flu virus had 'pandemic potential'.

'A new virus is responsible,' she said after an emergency meeting of flu experts in Geneva. 'It is a serious situation which needs to be closely followed.'

Separately a US health official warned that it may be too late to contain the new virus.

'It is clear that this is widespread. And that is why we have let you know that we cannot contain the spread of this virus,' Dr Anne Schuchat of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told reporters.

Dr Chan said it was too early to say whether a pandemic - defined as a global infectious disease outbreak for which there is no immunity - will actually occur.

But the UN agency has advised countries worldwide to look out for similar outbreaks following the discovery of related strains on both sides of the US-Mexico border.

Scores have died in Mexico from severe pneumonia after infection. At least 24 new suspected cases reported yesterday in Mexico City, a city of 20 million people.

Tests on some of the victims found that they had contracted a new version of the A/H1N1 flu virus, which is a combination of bird, pig and human viruses.

'It has pandemic potential because it is infecting people,' said Dr Chan. 'However, we cannot say on the basis of currently available laboratory, epidemiological, and clinical evidence whether or not it will indeed cause a pandemic.'

As the new strain was still poorly understood and the situation evolving quickly, it was too soon to announce any travel advisories or to advise drugmakers to switch to producing a new vaccine, she told a teleconference.

The CDC said some of the samples from Mexican patients were a genetic match of the strain seen in eight people in California and Texas, who later recovered.

In New York City, health officials were looking into what had sickened scores of students who fell ill with flu-like symptoms.

The French government said suspected cases are likely to occur in the coming days because of global air travel.

Most of the dead were young healthy adults. That alarms health officials because seasonal flus cause most of their deaths among infants and elderly people, but pandemic influenza - like the 1918 Spanish flu which killed millions - often strikes young, healthy people the hardest.

Influenza can spread quickly when a new strain emerges because no one has natural immunity.

Yesterday was the first time Dr Chan has convened such a crisis panel since the procedure was created almost two years ago.

An official source said yesterday the panel is expected to declare the outbreak 'a public health emergency of international concern'. With that, the WHO would have to decide next on measures such as travel advisories, trade restrictions and border closures.

The panel is also likely to ratchet up the WHO's six-phase flu pandemic alert level. It is now set at Phase 3 - meaning there is no or very limited risk of a new virus spreading from human to human.

US health officials are urging anyone with a fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath or muscle and joint pain to seek medical attention.

The WHO stands ready with antivirals to combat the outbreaks in Mexico. But the authorities have a sizeable supply of Tamiflu, which has proved effective against the new virus, the UN agency said.

Mr William Schaffner, a US flu expert, said the new strain is the biggest threat of a pandemic since the emergence of the H5N1 strain, which has killed millions of birds and hundreds of people.

[Guest east539]

MOH, from ST:

There are currently no known cases of human swine flu in Singapore but the Health Ministry is not taking any chances.

In a statement yesterday, the ministry said it has informed all medical practitioners and health-care institutions of the outbreak in the United States and Mexico, and alerted them to be vigilant for any suspect cases during this period.

The ministry is monitoring the situation closely and will update the public should there be developments.

Members of the public should seek immediate medical attention if they develop symptoms of swine flu within seven days of travel to California or Texas in the US, or to Mexico, the statement said.

The public is also advised to maintain high standards of personal hygiene, such as washing hands frequently with soap and water, especially after contact with respiratory secretions such as from sneezes and coughs.

Those who are sick with respiratory illnesses should avoid crowded areas and wear masks if possible.

The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) also issued a statement yesterday to say that the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has said that there is no danger of contracting the flu virus from eating pork products.

It added that cooking pork will kill the swine flu virus as it does with other bacteria and viruses.

Singapore imports about 10 per cent of its pork - all frozen - from the US. Since the beginning of this year, Singapore has imported about 2,500 tonnes of frozen pork from the US. There are no imports of pork from Mexico.

The AVA said it is monitoring the situation in the US and is in contact with the authorities there.

[Guest east539]

latest from ST

WELLINGTON (New Zealand) -NEW Zealand's health minister said on Sunday 10 students who just returned from Mexico have tested positive for influenza. He said the cases are 'likely' to be swine flu.

Tony Ryall said there was 'no guarantee' the students had swine flu, but that health officials were taking precautions.

At least 81 people have died from severe pneumonia caused by a flu-like illness in Mexico, according to the World Health Organisation, which declared the virus a public health emergency of 'pandemic potential.' Mr Ryall said that none of the patients were seriously ill and seemed to be recovering.

Thirteen high school students from a group of 25 students and teachers - who were quarantined and tested for swine influenza upon returning to New Zealand early on Saturday.

'Ten students have tested positive for Influenza A, and these results will now be sent to the World Health Organisation laboratory in Melbourne to ascertain whether it is the H1N1 swine influenza.' H1N1 influenza is a subset of influenza A.

The group from New Zealand's largest high school returned to the northern city of Auckland on Saturday on a flight from Los Angeles. Thirteen students and one teacher were unwell and one student had to be hospitalised, said Auckland Regional Public Health Services director Dr. Julia Peters.

At this stage other passengers on the flight were not being sought and the next step would depend on what the tests showed, said Health Ministry spokesman Michael Flyger.

Governments across the Asia-Pacific region were stepping up surveillance for the deadly virus after Mexico closed schools, museums, libraries and theaters in a bid to contain the outbreak.

About 1,000 people may have been sickened there. Some of those who died are confirmed to have a unique version of the A/H1N1 flu virus that is a combination of bird, pig and human viruses, WHO said.

US authorities said 11 people were infected with swine flu, and all recovered or are recovering and at least two were hospitalised. -- AP

[Guest jameslhm]

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