United States today confirmed 64 cases of swine flu in the country and warned that the situation will worsen and there will be deaths, which prompted the White House to request $ 1,500 million to Congress to tackle the disease. "I am absolutely convinced that there will be deaths due to infection," said Richard Besser today, Acting Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Besser noted that the new strain of influenza virus appears to go further but reminded, however, to put things in context, the common flu causes about 36,000 deaths annually in the U.S.. In the world the figure is between 250,000 and 500,000. The CDC reported today that the majority of the 64 confirmed cases, a total of 45, are concentrated in New York. Health authorities warned today that the state could have, in fact, hundreds of people affected.
In addition, the CDC noted that there are ten cases in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio. The agency announced on Monday that there were 40 affected. The confirmed cases include five hospitalizations in three California and two in Texas against a single hospital on Monday. The coroner's office in Los Angeles said today that the two deaths that were suspected might have been the result of the outbreak of swine flu did not seem to the disease.
Meanwhile, the U.S. president, Barack Obama, today sent a letter to Congress that calls for additional drugs to accumulate and strengthen supervision. "In a sample of great caution, I am asking Congress to include in the fiscal year 2009 an additional 1,500 million dollars to strengthen the capacity of our country to respond to the potential development of this outbreak," says the letter.
United States said on Sunday a public health emergency in the country. At the international level today also saw a worsening situation, with new cases in Israel and New Zealand, in addition to those of Mexico, Canada, Spain and United Kingdom. In total, more than 100 confirmed cases around the world and a long list of potential cases. All deaths are concentrated in Mexico, where it is suspected that the deaths the result of swine flu was about 150, although only 20 are fully confirmed.
Despite the progression of the disease, USA Today was not to adopt more stringent measures, such as extra checkups at the border to prevent further spread of the disease. The secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, reiterated, in line with the statement by Obama that the progression of disease is a concern but not alarm. It further stressed that the implementation of more stringent measures, including thorough checks on the border with Mexico, would generate huge costs and would have a marginal effect to prevent further contagion of the virus. USA today reiterated its recommendation to avoid travel to Mexico if it is not essential.
In another vein, the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, announced today that there was no pig infected with the virus and said it is completely "safe" to consume pork in the U.S.. He insisted that measures to restrict imports of U.S. pork will not respond to any scientific evidence and could lead to "serious restrictions". U.S. produces about 10,400 million pounds of pork each year.
Ecuador, Russia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, China and Lebanon are on the list of countries that have banned imports of U.S. pork. The swine flu symptoms are similar to those of common flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle discomfort, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people also experience intestinal disorders. Three influenza pandemics occurred worldwide during the twentieth century, in 1918, 1957 and 1968.
Besser noted that the new strain of influenza virus appears to go further but reminded, however, to put things in context, the common flu causes about 36,000 deaths annually in the U.S.. In the world the figure is between 250,000 and 500,000. The CDC reported today that the majority of the 64 confirmed cases, a total of 45, are concentrated in New York. Health authorities warned today that the state could have, in fact, hundreds of people affected.
In addition, the CDC noted that there are ten cases in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio. The agency announced on Monday that there were 40 affected. The confirmed cases include five hospitalizations in three California and two in Texas against a single hospital on Monday. The coroner's office in Los Angeles said today that the two deaths that were suspected might have been the result of the outbreak of swine flu did not seem to the disease.
Meanwhile, the U.S. president, Barack Obama, today sent a letter to Congress that calls for additional drugs to accumulate and strengthen supervision. "In a sample of great caution, I am asking Congress to include in the fiscal year 2009 an additional 1,500 million dollars to strengthen the capacity of our country to respond to the potential development of this outbreak," says the letter.
United States said on Sunday a public health emergency in the country. At the international level today also saw a worsening situation, with new cases in Israel and New Zealand, in addition to those of Mexico, Canada, Spain and United Kingdom. In total, more than 100 confirmed cases around the world and a long list of potential cases. All deaths are concentrated in Mexico, where it is suspected that the deaths the result of swine flu was about 150, although only 20 are fully confirmed.
Despite the progression of the disease, USA Today was not to adopt more stringent measures, such as extra checkups at the border to prevent further spread of the disease. The secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, reiterated, in line with the statement by Obama that the progression of disease is a concern but not alarm. It further stressed that the implementation of more stringent measures, including thorough checks on the border with Mexico, would generate huge costs and would have a marginal effect to prevent further contagion of the virus. USA today reiterated its recommendation to avoid travel to Mexico if it is not essential.
In another vein, the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, announced today that there was no pig infected with the virus and said it is completely "safe" to consume pork in the U.S.. He insisted that measures to restrict imports of U.S. pork will not respond to any scientific evidence and could lead to "serious restrictions". U.S. produces about 10,400 million pounds of pork each year.
Ecuador, Russia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, China and Lebanon are on the list of countries that have banned imports of U.S. pork. The swine flu symptoms are similar to those of common flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle discomfort, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people also experience intestinal disorders. Three influenza pandemics occurred worldwide during the twentieth century, in 1918, 1957 and 1968.
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