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Swine flu summit in Cancun; 13 deaths in Illinois
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Mexico's President Felipe Calderon talks with World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan during the "Lessons Learned and Preparedness of Swine Flu" summit in Cancun, Mexico, Thursday, July 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Miguel Tovar)
Speaking on the first day of a meeting of global health officials in the Mexican resort of Cancun Thursday to discuss the swine flu pandemic, World Health Organization Director Dr. Margaret Chan said the spread of the virus can’t be stopped, making travel restrictions pointless.
“The fact that we are gathered here in Cancun, Mexico, reaffirms a statement consistently made by WHO since the new H1N1 virus was first detected,” she said. “Recommendations to avoid travel to Mexico, or to any other country or area with confirmed cases, serve no purpose. They do not protect the public. They do not contain the outbreak. And they do not prevent further international spread.”
The WHO today reported that nearly 90,000 cases of H1N1 infection have been confirmed around the world. Of those, 382 have led to death.
“As we see today, with well over 100 countries reporting cases, once a fully fit pandemic virus emerges, its further international spread is unstoppable,” Chan said.
She said the virus already has peaked in some areas.
“But we need to watch very carefully what happens during the current winter season in the Southern Hemisphere,” she added.
Argentina, Chile, and Australia have been particularly hard hit in recent weeks. Argentina reports 26 deaths from the virus. Chile reported 1,165 new cases since Wednesday, including two deaths. There have been 7,376 confirmed H1N1 cases in Chile and 14 deaths. Australia also reported two more deaths in the last two days, bringing its total to nine.
The United States has confirmed 33,902 cases of H1N1, including 170 deaths. Wisconsin continues to lead the country in confirmed cases with 5,861, but there have been only four deaths attributed to swine flu in the state. There have been 44 deaths reported in the state of New York and 21 in California.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reports 13 deaths from swine flu in the state. There have been 3,149 laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 infection in Illinois. About 75 percent of those cases have occurred in Chicago and Cook County, but the IDPH says the virus has spread to 32 of the state’s 102 counties.
IDPH Director Dr. Damon T. Arnold Thursday reminded state residents that they should continue to take steps to guard against contracting swine flu.
“Although the rate at which we're seeing new H1N1 influenza virus cases in Illinois has slowed, the department continues to report new cases and expects this to continue through the summer,” Arnold said. “That is why it is important for people continue to take preventative measures and practice good hygiene. Doing so will help you avoid becoming sick and spreading illness.”
The department also released information on the ages of residents who have been infected. More than half (1,770) have occurred in people aged 5-24 years and there have been four deaths in that age group. There have been 700 cases and seven deaths in the 25-64 age group. Only 35 cases have been reported in people 65 and older, with one death. There have been 315 cases in children under 5, with one death. The numbers fall short of the total cases in the state because the age of some patients is not known by the department.
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