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Mexico 'very close' to containing flu spread: minister
MEXICO CITY
Petroleumworld.com, May 18, 2009Mexico estimated Friday that by the end of this month or in June the country would be "very close" to bringing under control the swine flu epidemic that so far has left 66 people dead.
"We cannot know when we will have it contained," Mexico's health minister Jose Angel Cordova admitted at his daily press briefing on the epidemic that has sickened 2,829 here.
But, he said, "I expect in this month or next we can be very close ... and that most of the cases will be sporadic."
Cordova said the death toll had been raised by two from Thursday's count, and that number of infected patients in the country at the epicenter of the H1N1 flu outbreak had risen by 173.
The epidemic's main trend is downward, he stressed.
The last death was on May 10, Cordova said, and a vast majority -- 61 of the cases -- were from patients who began to feel symptoms before April 23.
The minister however did not rule out the possibility of a resurgent virus, which according to the latest WHO data has infected 7,520 people in 34 countries -- 1,000 more than a day ago.
"If there is a mutation of the virus, there may be a resurgence and so we have to keep a close eye (on it), to contain it quickly with social distancing," said Cordova, referring to the country's week-long shutdown in its attempt to contain the outbreak.
"There's no risk for tourists," Cordova also insisted this week, underlining that most flu cases in tourist resorts had occurred almost two weeks ago.
Mexico's tourist industry, the country's third source of foreign income, is fighting to bring back custom after the flu outbreak and efforts to contain it sunk hotel occupancy across the country.
The flu's impact was expected to cost the economy around 2.3 billion dollars -- around 0.3 percent of gross domestic product -- and Mexico has launched a 1.06-billion-dollar business support program to help counter the damage.
Analysis is underway, Cordova told reporters, to determine vaccination measures -- how much is needed and what type will be required to handle the new H1N1 threat, along with the seasonal flu expected later this year.
Story by Helen Vesperini from AFP
AFP 05/15/2009 18:57
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