Gripe Porcina/ Swine Influenza In Mexico

WHO: Mexican Swine Flu has Pandemic Potential:

24 April 2009 -- The United States Government has reported seven confirmed human cases of Swine Influenza A/H1N1 in the USA (five in California and two in Texas) and nine suspect cases. All seven confirmed cases had mild Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), with only one requiring brief hospitalization. No deaths have been reported.

The Government of Mexico has reported three separate events. In the Federal District of Mexico, surveillance began picking up cases of ILI starting 18 March. The number of cases has risen steadily through April and as of 23 April there are now more than 854 cases of pneumonia from the capital. Of those, 59 have died. In San Luis Potosi, in central Mexico, 24 cases of ILI, with three deaths, have been reported. And from Mexicali, near the border with the United States, four cases of ILI, with no deaths, have been reported.

Of the Mexican cases, 18 have been laboratory confirmed in Canada as Swine Influenza A/H1N1, while 12 of those are genetically identical to the Swine Influenza A/H1N1 viruses from California.

The majority of these cases have occurred in otherwise healthy young adults. Influenza normally affects the very young and the very old, but these age groups have not been heavily affected in Mexico.

Because there are human cases associated with an animal influenza virus, and because of the geographical spread of multiple community outbreaks, plus the somewhat unusual age groups affected, these events are of high concern.

The Swine Influenza A/H1N1 viruses characterized in this outbreak have not been previously detected in pigs or humans. The viruses so far characterized have been sensitive to oseltamivir, but resistant to both amantadine and rimantadine.

The World Health Organization has been in constant contact with the health authorities in the United States, Mexico and Canada in order to better understand the risk which these ILI events pose. WHO (and PAHO) is sending missions of experts to Mexico to work with health authorities there. It is helping its Member States to increase field epidemiology activities, laboratory diagnosis and clinical management. Moreover, WHO's partners in the Global Alert and Response Network have been alerted and are ready to assist as requested by the Member States.

WHO acknowledges the United States and Mexico for their proactive reporting and their collaboration with WHO and will continue to work with Member States to further characterize the outbreak. http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_04_24/en/index.html

GENEVA – An outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and the United States is a quickly evolving situation that has "pandemic potential," the head of the World Health Organization said Saturday before an emergency meeting of flu experts.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the North American outbreak of a never-before-seen virus was a very serious situation.

She called Saturday's emergency meeting to consider declaring an international public health emergency over the outbreak, which is believed to have killed dozens of people in Mexico and sickened at least eight in the U.S.

The experts are also expected to recommend whether WHO should raise its pandemic alert to a higher level.

At least 62 people have died from severe pneumonia caused by a flu-like illness in Mexico, according to WHO. Some of those who died are confirmed to have a unique version of the A/H1N1 flu virus that is a combination of bird, pig and human viruses.

Mexico has closed schools, museums, libraries and theaters in a bid to contain the outbreak, which may have sickened about 1,000 people there.

"The situation is evolving quickly," Chan said at a telephone news conference in Geneva. "A new disease is by definition poorly understood.

"In the assessment of WHO, this is a serious situation which must be watched very closely."

"This is an animal strain of the H1N1 virus, and it has pandemic potential because it is infecting people," Chan said.

"However, we cannot say, on the basis of currently available laboratory, epidemiological and clinical evidence, whether or not it will indeed cause a pandemic," she added.

It is the first time Chan has convened such a crisis panel since the procedure was created almost two years ago, spokesman Gregory Hartl said.

The committee may decide Saturday that the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency, and if so, whether WHO should consider measures including travel advisories, trade restrictions and border closures.

The global body's flu pandemic alert level is now set to phase three — meaning there is no or very limited risk of a new virus spreading from human to human.

The committee "will be asked, 'should we raise the alert level to phase four or phase five,' depending on their appreciation of how far the virus has spread," Hartl said.

An increased alert level was considered likely, as initial evidence from the outbreak in Mexico indicates the virus has spread between people. Hartl said, however, that a decision would not be made Saturday.

EN Español!!

GINEBRA (Reuters) - Un brote de influenza porcina surgido en México y Estados Unidos tiene el potencial de causar una epidemia mundial, pero es muy pronto para afirmar que ello ocurrirá, dijo el sábado la directora de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS).

"Tiene potencial pandémico porque está infectando a las personas", dijo Margaret Chan, directora general de la OMS.

"Sin embargo, no podemos decir en base a la evidencia disponible de tipo clínico, epidemiológico y de laboratorio si causará o no una pandemia", indicó.

La nueva cepa, una mezcla de virus de influenza porcina, humana y aviaria que habría causado la muerte de 68 personas de entre 1.004 casos sospechosos en México e infectado a ocho en Estados Unidos, es poco conocida y la situación evoluciona rápidamente, dijo Chan en una teleconferencia.

Un comité de emergencia conformado por expertos, que se reunirá a la brevedad, asesorará a la directora de la OMS sobre asuntos que incluyen la posibilidad de cambiar el nivel de alerta pandémica de la OMS, que es actualmente de 3 en una escala del 1 al 6.

Es "demasiado prematuro en este momento" que la OMS emita alguna alerta sobre viajes, debido a que aún se requieren los análisis de los casos y otros datos clínicos, aseguró.

"Aún no tenemos un cuadro completo de la epidemiología o del riesgo, incluyendo posibles contagios fuera de las áreas actualmente afectadas", dijo Chan. "No obstante, según la evaluación de la OMS, esta es una situación seria", añadió.

También es muy pronto para que la agencia de Naciones Unidas aconseje a los laboratorios que empiecen a producir una vacuna contra la nueva cepa del virus, aparte de su tradicional producción de vacunas estacionales para la influenza, sostuvo. http://mx.news.yahoo.com/s/25042009/2/n-health-gripe-porcina-potencial-pandemico-jefa.html