New swine flu cases in Latin America
(laestrella.com.pa) Panama Star- Preventative pamphlets were distributed in voting centers in Panama
The swine flu epidemic spread deeper into the United States, Europe and Latin America — and in Canada, back to pigs — as the Health Minister in Panama took advantage of the general elections to diffuse information on preventative measures.
Health Minister Rosario Turner visited many of the voting centers in Panama City distributing pamphlets with information on the H1N1 flu, which keeps the world on high alert of a possible pandemic.
The Minister said that Panama so far has seen 17 suspected cases, 15 of which have been discarded as false alarms, and two which are still under observation.
Turner said Panamanians facing the flu’s symptoms of high fever, sore throat, coughing, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue should visit health centers or hospitals and receive medical attention. She highlighted that Panama is not out of harm’s way, and hopes that Panamanians remain conscious of the potential risk, willing to help with the prevention of a possible outbreak in the country.
During the elections, some of the voters at Colegio La Salle, one of the biggest voting centers in Panama City, decided to wear surgical masks as a preventive measure against a possible infection of the virus.
The virus has spread to Panama’s neighboring country Colombia, with the first confirmed case in South America. This new case is worrisome because flu season is about to begin in the Southern Hemisphere.
More cases were confirmed in Europe and North America; the World Health Organization said at least 787 people have been sickened worldwide.
Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said swine flu is spreading just as easily as regular winter flu, with 226 confirmed cases in 30 US states.
"The good news is when we look at this virus right now, we're not seeing some of the things in the virus that have been associated in the past with more severe flu," Besser said.
"That's encouraging, but it doesn't mean we're out of the woods yet."
Meanwhile, in Canada, officials quarantined about 220 pigs that became infected from a worker who had recently returned from Mexico.
It was the first case of the H1N1 virus being passed from a human to another species.
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Original Source: Laestrella.com.pa
Date Retrieved: May 5, 2009.
