ID :
57535
Mon, 04/27/2009 - 06:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/57535
The shortlink copeid
Japan on high alert for swine flu after outbreak in Mexico+
TOKYO, April 26 Kyodo - Japan remained on high alert Saturday for swine flu following reports of deadly outbreaks among people in Mexico, with the government tightening health checks of passengers arriving from the country and urging those who are set to visit
Mexico to consider canceling their trip.
The government hurried to gather information on the disease at a liaison office
set up at the crisis management center of the prime minister's office. By the
end of the day, calls from 314 anxious people had clogged up 10 telephone lines
opened by the health ministry in the afternoon for consultation services.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry also prepared leaflets to raise
awareness of the epidemic among travelers to Mexico and the United States,
where human infections of swine flu have also been reported. The Foreign
Ministry issued a warning against the disease and urged those who are set to
travel to Mexico to consider aborting their trip.
Swine flu is suspected of causing as many as 68 deaths in Mexico, with 1,004
people infected in the country, according to Mexican Health Secretary Jose
Angel Cordoba. The U.S. Center for Disease Control has unveiled eight cases of
swine flu infections in California and Texas, and determined they were
human-to-human infection.
Yoshio Namba, head of the health ministry's taskforce on swine flu, called for
a calm response at a press conference Saturday, requesting people in Japan to
act on correct information. The number of the ministry's telephone consultation
services is 03-3501-9031.
At Kansai and Narita international airports, quarantine officers used
thermographic imaging to check the temperatures of passengers coming from
Mexico to detect any signs of flu symptoms. There are no direct flights from
Mexico at Kansai airport in western Japan, and passengers traveling via the
Untied States were subject to tighter health checks.
A 35-year-old woman who was set to fly to Mexico to meet her husband told Kyodo
News at Narita airport, east of Tokyo, that she was surprised to hear about the
disease. ''I will cancel my plan to go sightseeing in Mexico City and try to
stay in the hotel,'' she said.
The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry instructed animal quarantine
offices across Japan on Saturday to examine any live pigs to be brought into
Japan to make sure they are not infected.
The ministry said it did not ask for checks of imported pork as the virus dies
when heated, and the possibility of the virus adhering to pork is quite low.
In 2008, 164 pigs were imported for breed improvement from the United States
and none from Mexico, the ministry said.
In Mexico, schools, libraries, museums and theaters were closed in a bid to
prevent the further spread of the flu, and long lines were formed at hospitals
by people seeking vaccination. Mexico City Mayor Marcel Ebrard said all public
events will be canceled in the coming 10 days, according to local reports.
Medical masks flew out of drug stores and the country's soccer association
decided to hold two matches without allowing any spectators in on Sunday.
Toyota Motor Corp. began preparations to send medical masks to its factories in
the United States and Canada.
The Japanese Embassy in Mexico City said there were no reports of deaths from
the flu or infections among the more than 5,000 Japanese who live in Mexico.
The embassy said it is too early to recommend evacuation from the country.
In Geneva, the World Health Organization convened an emergency meeting of 15
experts Saturday to examine whether to raise the alert level for global
influenza pandemic from the current phase 3 for the first time.
In phase 3, a new influenza virus subtype is causing disease in humans but has
not yet spread effectively and in a sustainable manner among humans. Phase 4
refers to a situation in which the evidence of increased human-to-human
transmission can be confirmed.
Phase 6 is the highest alert for flu pandemic. It recognizes efficient and
sustained human-to-human transmission.
Experts in Japan project that it will take at least a year and a half to
produce swine flu vaccines that will cover all the population in Japan,
amounting to some 120 million.
==Kyodo
Mexico to consider canceling their trip.
The government hurried to gather information on the disease at a liaison office
set up at the crisis management center of the prime minister's office. By the
end of the day, calls from 314 anxious people had clogged up 10 telephone lines
opened by the health ministry in the afternoon for consultation services.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry also prepared leaflets to raise
awareness of the epidemic among travelers to Mexico and the United States,
where human infections of swine flu have also been reported. The Foreign
Ministry issued a warning against the disease and urged those who are set to
travel to Mexico to consider aborting their trip.
Swine flu is suspected of causing as many as 68 deaths in Mexico, with 1,004
people infected in the country, according to Mexican Health Secretary Jose
Angel Cordoba. The U.S. Center for Disease Control has unveiled eight cases of
swine flu infections in California and Texas, and determined they were
human-to-human infection.
Yoshio Namba, head of the health ministry's taskforce on swine flu, called for
a calm response at a press conference Saturday, requesting people in Japan to
act on correct information. The number of the ministry's telephone consultation
services is 03-3501-9031.
At Kansai and Narita international airports, quarantine officers used
thermographic imaging to check the temperatures of passengers coming from
Mexico to detect any signs of flu symptoms. There are no direct flights from
Mexico at Kansai airport in western Japan, and passengers traveling via the
Untied States were subject to tighter health checks.
A 35-year-old woman who was set to fly to Mexico to meet her husband told Kyodo
News at Narita airport, east of Tokyo, that she was surprised to hear about the
disease. ''I will cancel my plan to go sightseeing in Mexico City and try to
stay in the hotel,'' she said.
The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry instructed animal quarantine
offices across Japan on Saturday to examine any live pigs to be brought into
Japan to make sure they are not infected.
The ministry said it did not ask for checks of imported pork as the virus dies
when heated, and the possibility of the virus adhering to pork is quite low.
In 2008, 164 pigs were imported for breed improvement from the United States
and none from Mexico, the ministry said.
In Mexico, schools, libraries, museums and theaters were closed in a bid to
prevent the further spread of the flu, and long lines were formed at hospitals
by people seeking vaccination. Mexico City Mayor Marcel Ebrard said all public
events will be canceled in the coming 10 days, according to local reports.
Medical masks flew out of drug stores and the country's soccer association
decided to hold two matches without allowing any spectators in on Sunday.
Toyota Motor Corp. began preparations to send medical masks to its factories in
the United States and Canada.
The Japanese Embassy in Mexico City said there were no reports of deaths from
the flu or infections among the more than 5,000 Japanese who live in Mexico.
The embassy said it is too early to recommend evacuation from the country.
In Geneva, the World Health Organization convened an emergency meeting of 15
experts Saturday to examine whether to raise the alert level for global
influenza pandemic from the current phase 3 for the first time.
In phase 3, a new influenza virus subtype is causing disease in humans but has
not yet spread effectively and in a sustainable manner among humans. Phase 4
refers to a situation in which the evidence of increased human-to-human
transmission can be confirmed.
Phase 6 is the highest alert for flu pandemic. It recognizes efficient and
sustained human-to-human transmission.
Experts in Japan project that it will take at least a year and a half to
produce swine flu vaccines that will cover all the population in Japan,
amounting to some 120 million.
==Kyodo
