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Mexico death toll stabilizes as epidemic spreads

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-29 14:02

MEXICO CITY -- The toll from the swine flu epidemic appears to be stabilizing in Mexico, the health secretary said late Tuesday, with only seven more suspected deaths. But health officials said they "fully expect" to see US deaths as the virus keeps spreading around the world.

A woman with her children speaks to a Navy sailor dressed in full body protective gear who guards the entrance to the are where patients with flu-like symptoms are treated at the Naval hospital in Mexico City, Tuesday, April 28, 2009. [Agencies]

The new virus is suspected in 159 deaths and 2,498 illnesses across Mexico, said Health Secretary Jose Cordova, who called the death toll "more or less stable" even as hospitals are swamped with people who think they have swine flu. And he said only 1,311 suspected swine flu patients remain hospitalized, a sign that treatment works for people who get medical care quickly.

The positive news came as the swine flu appeared to spread from hundreds of students at a New York school who fell ill after a small group's spring break trip to Mexico, and confirmed cases were reported in New Zealand and Israel, joining the United States, Canada, Britain and Spain.

The United States stepped up surveillance at its borders and warned Americans to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico. Canada, Israel and France issued similar travel advisories.

Cuba became the first country to impose an outright ban on travel to the epicenter of the epidemic. Argentina soon followed with its own ban, and ordered 60,000 visitors who arrived from Canada, Mexico and the US in the past 20 days to contact the Health Ministry.

Full coverage:  Swine Flu Outbreak Related readings:  United States and Mexico battle swine flu  Swine flu samples burst in Swiss train, no threat  At least 5 hospitalized in US with swine flu  WHO recommends no border closure despite swine flu spread

Meanwhile, Mexico was eliminating reasons for tourists to visit. On Tuesday, the pyramids and all other archaeological sites were put off limits nationwide and restaurants in the capital were closed for all but take-out food in an aggressive bid to stop gatherings where the virus can spread.

Experts on epidemics said these kinds of government interventions are ineffective, since this flu --a never-before-seen blend of genetic material from pigs, birds and humans to which people have no natural immunity --is already showing up in too many places for containment efforts to make a difference.

Outside Mexico, confirmed cases were reported for the first time as far away as New Zealand and Israel, joining the United States, Canada, Britain and Spain. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the US has 66 confirmed cases in five states, with 45 in New York, one in Ohio, one in Indiana, two in Kansas, six in Texas and 11 in California.

"Border controls do not work. Travel restrictions do not work," said WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl, recalling the SARS epidemic earlier in the decade that killed 774 people, mostly in Asia, and slowed the global economy.

Instead, they say, governments should do more to provide medical help to people with swine flu symptoms, since the virus is proving to be treatable if diagnosed early.

US officials stressed there is no need for panic, noting that flu outbreaks are quite common every year. The CDC estimates about 36,000 people in the US alone died of flu-related causes each year, on average, in the 1990s.

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