There’s been an outbreak of a rare and deadly strain of swine flue in
Mexico. Mexican authorities report 20 deaths from swine flu and said authorities
were investigating 40 more possible fatalities and 943 possible infections.
The World Health Organization went on high alert today, because there have been
outbreaks in multiple communities in Mexico.
The flu-like symptoms resemble those of regular human influenza, including
fever, lethargy, coughing and nausea except there is no human vaccine for swine
flu. Authorities in Mexico have launched a huge campaign to prevent the spread
of the virus, including closing schools and urging people to avoid contacts
in public. The concern of the World Health Organization is amplified because
"the viruses characterized in this outbreak have not been previously detected
in pigs or humans."
Now what’s the threat to Belize? Well, the Belize Agricultural Health
Authority has not issued any notice and at this time, we don’t know of
any threat as we have not found any reports of any cases in Quintana Roo. But,
it bears watching, because of the virulence of the outbreak and the fact that
when Mexico sneezes, Belize can catch a cold. So we’ll keep you posted
on it, but stress that at this time there has been no public health advisory
for Belize.
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