World on Swine Flu Alert

IslamOnline.net & News Agencies
MEXICO CITY — Amid growing panic and fears, governments around the world are on alert, taking urgent measures to head off the spread of the swine flu deadly virus.
"(We are) monitoring minute by minute the evolution of this problem across the whole country," Mexican President Felipe Calderon told a press conference on Sunday, April 27.

He has given the government extraordinary powers to tackle the multi-strain swine flu outbreak that has killed as many as 81 people and infected over 1,000 so far.
This includes measures to isolate those infected with the rare virus and inspect their homes.
The government has already canceled hundreds of public events and closed schools, colleges, theaters and museums in a tireless bid to control the outbreak of the deadly virus.

Churchgoers were told to stay home and follow Sunday services on television and bewildered tourists were made to wear surgical face masks.

The swine flu virus causes flu-like symptoms such as a sudden fever, cough or muscle aches.

It can spread quickly because no one has natural immunity and a vaccine takes months to develop.

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

"This virus has clearly a pandemic potential," warned World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan.

The new flu strain, a mixture of various swine, bird and human viruses, poses the biggest risk of a large-scale pandemic since avian flu surfaced in 1997.

A 1968 "Hong Kong" flu pandemic killed about 1 million people globally.

Global

Across the border, health authorities in the United States have taken a number of measures and urged people to take precautions after eleven people were infected.

Argentina declared a health alert, requiring anyone arriving on flights from Mexico to confirm if they had flu-like symptoms.

In Europe, ten New Zealand students who recently returned from Mexico have tested positive for influenza and are "likely" to have the potentially fatal swine flu.

"Ministry of Health officials advise me there is no guarantee these students have swine influenza, but they consider it likely," Health Minister Tony Ryall said.

"I am also informed none of the affected patients are considered seriously ill, and most in fact seem to be on the road to recovery."

Supplies of the medication Tamiflu have been released to treat the students, and although its effectiveness on swine flu was not yet confirmed reports from Mexico indicated it was effective, says Darren Hunt, the deputy director of public health.

The Foreign Ministry has issued a travel health notice for Mexico, California and Texas, where swine flu cases have been confirmed.

It advised anyone who had recently traveled to these areas and developed flu-like symptoms to seek immediate medical attention.

Thousands of miles away in Asia, Hong Kong stepped up surveillance at border control points.

"People who develop respiratory illness within seven days after returning from the affected places should put on a surgical mask and seek medical consultation from public clinics and hospitals immediately," said Thomas Tsang, controller of the Centre for Health Protection.

In China, the quarantine authority issued an emergency notice requiring people to report flu-like symptoms at ports of entry when coming from affected places.

Singapore's Health Ministry urged medical staff to be on the alert for any suspect human cases, advising the public to maintain good hygiene and wash hands frequently.

Vietnam launched a disease surveillance system to detect any suspect cases and sought more information from the WHO on the virus and prevention methods.

The Seoul government stepped up quarantine and safety checks on travelers arriving from the US and Mexico, as well as pork imports from both countries.

Narita airport, east of Tokyo, ramped up temperature checks for travelers from Mexico using thermographic imaging equipment.

The Farm Ministry instructed animal quarantine officers to examine imported live pigs to make sure they were not infected.

Malaysia's Health Ministry begun screening passengers travelling to and from Mexico at all border points.
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