Governments Aim to Stall Spread of Deadly Flu

Phase 4 alert signals that virus is now adept at spreading between humans. Governments around the world took steps Tuesday to curb the spread of a new strain of flu that has killed up to 149 people in Mexico and spread to Europe and possibly Asia. In Asia, financial markets were on edge over the risk the flu could develop into a pandemic and kill off fragile signs of recovery in the global economy after the World Health Organization raised its alert level for the outbreak. No one has died outside Mexico but more than 50 infected people have been found in the United States, six in Canada and three across the Atlantic in Spain and Scotland. A 51yearold South Korean woman tested positive for swine flu Tuesday after traveling to Mexico but officials said final tests were still necessary. All 315 others on the same flight from Los Angeles were being tested but none have turned up positive, officials said. The number of U.S. cases doubled to 50, the result of further testing at a New York City school, although none was fatal. Other U.S. cases have been reported in Ohio, Kansas, Texas and California. The U.S. also ordered stepped up border checks in neighboring states. Travel Alerts Governments around the world have taken steps to tighten monitoring of their airports or advised against nonessential travel to Mexico. Britain, France and Germany issued travel alerts for Mexico. Japan advised its citizens in Mexico to consider returning home soon, saying they might find themselves unable to leave and not be able to get adequate medical care. China vowed to disclose any human cases of swine fever promptly, while state run newspapers urged officials to be open and avoid the kind of cover ups that brought panic during the SARS epidemic in 2003. The swine flu bug is curable if treated quickly with antiviral medicine but no one is naturally immune. The WHO has lifted its pandemic alert to phase 4, meaning there is sustained human to human transmission of the virus causing outbreaks in at least one country. It also indicates the risk of a deadly global outbreak. “At this time, containment is not a feasible option,” said Keiji Fukuda, assistant director general of the World Health Organization. The virus poses a potentially grave new threat to the U.S. economy, which was showing tentative early signs of a recovery. A widespread outbreak could batter tourism, food and transportation industries, deepening the recession in the U.S. and possibly worldwide. Putting an alert at phases 4 or 5 signals that the virus is becoming increasingly adept at spreading among humans. That move could lead governments to set trade, travel and other restrictions aimed at limiting its spread. Phase 6 is for a full blown pandemic, characterized by outbreaks in at least two regions of the world. The last pandemic, a Hong Kong flu outbreak in 1968, killed about one million people around the world. Aside from the confirmed cases, 13 are suspected in New Zealand, and one is suspected in both France and Israel. The best way to keep the disease from spreading, Besser said, is by taking everyday precautions such as frequent hand washing, covering up coughs and sneezes, and staying away from work or school if not feeling well. He said authorities are not recommending that people wear masks at work because evidence that it is effective “is not that strong.” China, Russia and Ukraine were among countries banning imports of pork and pork products from Mexico and three U.S. states that have reported swine flu cases, while other countries, such as Indonesia, banned all pork imports. The CDC says people cannot get the flu by eating pork or pork products