WHO Warns That the Swine Flu Pandemic is Imminent

The activation of the alert level of the WHO-5 the penultimate stage before the declaration of the global pandemic, occurs when the disease has developed autonomous foci in more than two countries of a region.

“This virus is a new guy, very unpredictable,” noted Chan.

The Minister of Health, Trinidad Jimenez, announced that one of the 10 cases of swine flu identified in the country is in a person who did not travel to Mexico. “So far, all persons who have been affected had recently traveled to Mexico, except one in Catalonia is the first confirmed case of its kind in Spain” Jimenez said, adding that “has been an indirect contagion” .

Meanwhile, a Mexican child 22 months in Texas became the first victim of the lethal virus out of New Mexico. This led to the declaration of emergency in that state in southern United States. According to authorities, the boy had crossed the border to visit relatives.

United States is the second most affected country, with 91 confirmed cases in 10 states. The government said it is prepared for a pandemic if necessary. “We are preparing for the worst,” said Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano.

Mexico reduced to the minimum public meetings to give battle to the epidemic, according to authorities, has caused at least 8 deaths of 99 confirmed cases of infection by the new virus. “One death is a citizen of Bangladesh who have been living six months in Mexico City and working in the street trade,” said National Director of Epidemiology of Mexico, Miguel Angel Lezana.

However, as Mexico City mayor Marcelo Ebrard, in capital cases of infection are “stabilizing.”

Canada was detected in 6 cases, bringing the total to 19.

Apart from Spain, the virus spread to other countries in Europe with three cases in Germany, Austria and one in five in Britain.
WHO on Wednesday raised its alert level for swine flu with 148 confirmed cases in the world and warned that the pandemic is “imminent”, after the announcement of a death in the United States and detection of a patient in Spain not had traveled to Mexico, the initial outbreak of the disease. Continue reading the arículo.
Costa Rica became the first Latin American country where the virus came after the positive diagnosis in two Costa Ricans who arrived from Mexico.

WHO estimated in 148 cases of swine flu in the world, including 9 deaths (8 in Mexico and 1 in the USA). These data are often less than the balances of the affected countries due to the processes of verification made by the agency.

Several countries extreme measures against Mexico. Cuba suspended indefinitely the scheduled and charter flights to Mexico, Argentina and ordered the suspension of flights from Mexico until next Monday. France, which had recommended not to travel to Mexico, like Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Iran, asked the European Union to suspend flights there.

Ecuador-detected cases where no-declared state of emergency for 60 days, which means freeing human and financial resources. The measure was added to the suspension of charter flights to Mexico and the import of pigs and products from Mexico and United States, despite the WHO as “any person (was) contaminated pigs” because the virus is transmitted from person to person. China, Thailand, Russia, Ukraine, most countries of the Balkans, Indonesia and Lebanon had taken similar action.

Egypt was more drastic and sacrifice announced “immediate” all the pigs in the country.

Concerned, pork producers from Brazil, the European Commission and U.S. authorities have proposed to stop using the term “swine flu”. The director of the Center for Disease Control U.S. (CDC), Richard Besser, said the official name of the virus is H1N1 Influenza 2009. “