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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
US reaction to swine flu more muted than elsewhere
2009-04-29
EL PASO, Texas (AP) - U.S. airports and border agents waved people through Monday with little or no additional screening for Mexico's deadly swine flu—a far more muted reaction than the extreme caution elsewhere around the world. The number of confirmed U.S. cases rose to 48, most of them mild and none fatal. The government said it was shipping millions of doses of flu-fighting medicine from a federal stockpile to states along the Mexican border or where the virus has been detected.

But the American reaction to swine flu, which has killed up to 149 people in Mexico and on Monday led the World Health Organization to raise its alert level, was mostly limited to steps that hospitals, schools and mask-wearing individuals took on their own.
Which is good because that's the way Americans traditionally are. We don't need to wait on the federal government to tell us what to do.
At the main pedestrian border crossing between El Paso and Mexico's Ciudad Juarez, a handful of people wore protective masks and officials handed out a swine flu flier provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But there were no extra screenings for swine flu, and it mostly looked like a typical day at the border. Suddenly faced with a new and unforeseen threat, people entering the country who said they felt unwell were questioned about their symptoms. But there were no reports of anyone refused entry.

Jorge Juarez and Miranda Carnero, both 18, crossed the border wearing bright blue masks. "It's just a precaution," said Juarez, who lives in El Paso and drew a smiley face on his mask.

Passengers from a Mexico City flight that arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey said they were surprised customs officials did nothing more than hand them an informational flier. "Everyone's afraid. But when we got here, they said 'Welcome to America. You don't need that,'" said Alejandro Meneses of Fairlawn, N.J., pointing to a paper mask hanging from his neck.

The confirmed U.S. cases included 28 at a private high school in New York City, 11 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio. Only one American case has led to a hospitalization.

President Barack Obama characterized the U.S. cases as a cause for concern but not "a cause for alarm." The federal government said travel warnings for trips to Mexico would remain in place as long as swine flu is detected.

Public health experts cautioned that screenings were not foolproof. People with the flu can spread the virus to others before any symptoms show up. "It's not a perfect solution," said Greg Gray, director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, who estimated the screenings would pick up 80 to 90 percent of cases.

Gray said he believed the U.S. response was appropriate given how little researchers know about the potency. "The virus is here in North America, and it's likely to show up on every continent, I think, by the end of the week," he said. "It's hard to stop."

In other countries, precautions were far more stringent. Asian nations activated thermal scanners used during the 2003 SARS crisis to check for signs of fever among passengers arriving from North America. In Malaysia, health workers in face masks took the temperatures of passengers touching down from Los Angeles.

Australia said it would require pilots on international flights to file a report noting any flu-like symptoms among passengers before being allowed to land. And China ordered anyone with flu-like symptoms within two weeks of arrival to report to authorities.

The European Union's health commissioner urged Europeans to put off nonessential travel to part of the United States, but Dr. Richard Besser, acting head of the CDC in Atlanta, said the recommendation was unwarranted. "At this point I would not put a travel restriction or recommendation against coming to the United States," he said.
Posted by:Steve White

#5  First US death of a toddler reported in Houston hospital, with the best resources available. Got queasy thinking about it--the girl in front of me on a flight from Houston coughed and barfed the whole trip. Have they put those virus-killing UV lights in the air circulation system on planes yet? They make UV wands to pass over hard surfaces that every cleaning crew could easily use. Hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes readily available in restrooms, for trays and shopping carts, the fever detectors used in Asian airports following SARS, etc. Seems like we could do some fairly simple procedures without panicking.
Posted by: Thealing Borgia 122   2009-04-29 11:19  

#4  ...except for the loss of significant numbers of doctors, nurses, and first line responders downed by the wave of that 'mature' strain. Reading on the net, that's already happening in Mexico DF. I'm sure the bureaucrats will survive to man [or woman] a national health care system, but the practitioners are another matter.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2009-04-29 09:11  

#3  Natural Selection is our friend! Panic and fear would only waste a good crisis. It must be permitted to fully mature. Only then can government and an emergency national medical programe featuring universal health care become the salvation.
Posted by: Besoeker   2009-04-29 07:34  

#2  Is 'muted' a synonym for 'muddled' these days?
Posted by: SteveS   2009-04-29 02:08  

#1  Our politicians have been shoveling pigsh*t on us for so long that we have developed some immunity to swine virus.
Posted by: OldSpook   2009-04-29 01:03  

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