A recent declaration by the World Health Organization, over the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico stated that the very unusual virus is an international cause for concern in terms of public health.
Spokesperson, Dr. Margaret Chan, explained that the flu is passed on by humans, which makes it a potential problem of pandemic proportions.
Already the outbreak spread to the United States has crossed the border from Mexico. Numbers already infected are estimated at well over twelve hundred, with eighty one people already dead from the virus.
The government of Mexico have taken very extreme measures to try and control the situation including mass quarantine and forcing citizens to be treated. Homes have been searched as well as public transport systems in an effort to locate individuals affected by the rare swine influenza.
Many public buildings have been closed to the public and most schools are now closed. All part of the emergency restrictions put in place by Jose Angel Cordova, the Health Secretary.
Some of this action came too late for some, as people had died well before these latest measures were announced. It was a laboratory in Canada that discovered the virus, which is a mixture of swine, bird and human flu, making it unique and very dangerous.
So far there have been eleven cases in America and at Atlanta’s National Center for Disease Control and Prevention they were expecting many more cases to be reported.
This was based on the spot where the original case was reported and Dr Anne Schuchat who was speaking on behalf of the agency said that keeping the virus contained was not very likely.
