WHO head: Swine Flu Outbreak is "Serious"

It had been warned for some time that there is a potential for a pandemic from all the virulent viruses out there. The issue had been ignored over the last year. Now that the issue has reappeared again. If nothing is done to stop or prevent a crisis we could the kind of epidemic we've read about in the history books. It seems every problem now is ignored until something terrible happens (i.e., 9-11, the infrastructure, global warming, oil prices, the financial bubble, virus pandemics, etc., etc.)

The outbreak of a new multi-strain swine flu virus transmitted from human to human that has killed up to 60 people in Mexico is a "serious situation" with a "pandemic potential", the head of the World Health Organisation said Saturday.

Mexico is in crisis.

As Mexico struggled against the odds Saturday to contain a strange new flu that has killed 68 and perhaps sickened more than 1,000, it was becoming clearer that the government hasn't moved quickly enough to head off what the World Health Organization said has the potential to become a global epidemic.

The World Health Organization said the outbreak has become a "public health emergency of international concern" and asked countries around the world to step up reporting and surveillance of the disease and implement a coordinated response to contain it.

But Mexicans were dying for weeks at least before U.S. scientists identified the strain — a combination of swine, bird and human influenza that people may have no natural immunity to. Now, even controlling passengers at airports and bus stations may not keep it from spreading, epidemiologists say.

The disease has already reached Texas, California and Kansas, and 24 new suspected cases were reported Saturday in Mexico City alone, where authorities suspended schools and all public events until further notice. More than 500 concerts, sporting events and other gatherings were canceled in the metropolis of 20 million.

The Mexican government issued a decree authorizing President Felipe Calderon to invoke special powers letting the Health Department isolate patients and inspect homes, incoming travelers and baggage.

Is it long before the U.S. is impacted?

But officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they understoodthat the outbreak potential in the United States was serious.

“It’s clear that this is widespread,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, Interim Deputy Director for Science and Public Health Program for the C.D.C. said in a teleconference on Saturday afternoon. “We do not think we can contain the spread of this virus.”

Dr. Schchat said that there were no new confirmed human cases of swine influenza in the United States. On Friday, two were announced in Texas and six in California.

Of the eight cases that have been confirmed, Dr. Schuchat said, all “have been mild.” She added: “Only one has been hospitalized. That can change, but so far, we have been quite fortunate.”

Several reports of clusters of respiratory illnesses had been reported to the centers, including one at St. Francis Preparatory High School in Queens, N.Y., where about 75 students went to the school’s medical office on Thursday complaining of flu-like symptoms. There was no confirmation that the students had swine flu, but health officials said it would take several days to get back test results.

This video from the CDC shows you one important way to protect yourself from the Swine Flu and other infectious disceases--wash your hands.