For those who have been hearing about this on media sources such as CNN, I thought this might be of interest. An outbreak of Swine Flu (H1N1) has been reported in several states of Mexico including Mexico City. The outbreaks in Mexico appear to be carrying a case fatality rate of around 7% with 68 deaths and approx. 1,000 cases reported. The cases reported in the USA were in San Diego and Texas, with no fatalities yet reported in America. The strains of the viruses isolated thus far has proved to be similiar, both from America and Mexico.
Here are some decent links:
World Health Organization Influenza Outbreak in USA and Mexico http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_04_24/en/index.html
CDC Travel health Precaution for Mexico http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentSwineFluMexico.aspx
There is no advice to postpone travel to Mexico and travelers should exercise “common sense” travel precautions such as frequent handwashing, avoidance of those with cough, sneeze or sniffles and low threshold for seeking medical care if fever and flu-like illness occurs. Swine Flu appears to be sensitive to anti-virals such as Oseltamivir (tamiflu) and Zanamivir (relenza). These medications are advised for treatment of swine-flu and should be started within the first day or two of symptoms.
Very interesting and scary stuff! More to come…