As the global outbreak of swine flu appears to be tapering off, there are now 33 countries reporting an estimated total of 6,080 confirmed cases, including 3,009 in 45 U.S. states, 2,446 in Mexico and 358 in Canada, The Associated Press reported.
However, the death total is relatively low at 65 confirmed, of which 60 were in Mexico, three in the U.S., one in Canada and one in Costa Rica.
Mexico has tested about 9,000 sick people and found that the country’s dead represents 2.5 percent of confirmed cases, suggesting the virus is not as deadly as initially feared, according to Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova.
Cordova said pneumonia might be much more deadly, killing 9,500 people in Mexico last year. He reported that the last death from swine flu was on May 7.
He also addressed Mexico’s hard-hit tourism industry, saying there are “very few” cases in tourist destinations – including 7 in Cancun.
“There is no risk for tourists – they can return to these relaxing vacation spots,” he said.
But experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that there is a danger the virus will mutate into something more dangerous, perhaps by combining with the more deadly but less easily spread bird flu virus circulating in Asia and Africa.
Many fear it could also combine with the northern winter’s seasonal H1N1 virus, which was resistant to Tamiflu, and health officials worry it could make the new swine flu resistant to Tamiflu as well.
The World Health Organization is warning countries to limit the use of antiviral drugs to ensure adequate supplies as swine flu is still spreading around the globe.
In an attempt to contain the virus before it spreads more widely, antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza have been administered much more aggressively in European countries than in the U.S. and Mexico.
EU and Latin American officials, including Mexican officials, were meeting in Prague on Wednesday to discuss the threat.
The U.N. agency thinks antivirals should be targeted mainly at people already suffering from other diseases or complications””such as pregnancy””that can lower a body’s defenses against flu, according to WHO medical expert Dr. Nikki Shindo.
Officials from the CDC are suggesting pregnant women take the drugs if diagnosed with swine flu, even though the effects on the fetus are not completely known.
Flu infections have raised the risk of premature birth in past flu epidemics and pregnant women are more likely to suffer pneumonia when they catch flu.
Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said risks from the virus are greater than the unknown risks to the fetus from Tamiflu and Relenza.
“We really want to get the word out about the likely benefits of prompt antiviral treatment for pregnant women,” she said.
Cordova said Mexico now gives Tamiflu to anyone who has had direct contact with a person infected with swine flu and since schools are now back in session, authorities plan to give it to any children who may be showing symptoms of contraction.
The state education department reported Tuesday that 5,689 children in Mexico’s Baja California state, on the U.S. border, were turned away from schools when classes resumed because they had symptoms like runny noses, headaches or sore throats.
The WHO is receiving a donation from Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche Holding AG that will provide enough Tamiflu for 5.65 million people.
A new stockpile for children will include another 650,000 packets containing smaller doses of the drug.
At the start of the outbreak, Mexican authorities had enough Tamiflu for only 1 million people, but have since built up reserves of 1.5 million courses.
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