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H1N1: a year on alert
The lethality of the virus and its cost to the country is a topic that still generates controversy, WHO and investigation ordered
Posted: Sunday April 18, 2010 | 03:03 hrs.
By: Karla Garduno / Agency Reform
Mexico, D.F.
A year gone by, the balance between the lethality of influenza A H1N1 virus and the economic costs to Mexico represented by the outbreak contingency remains square.
Although hospitals were saturated with patients with respiratory symptoms in both the first outbreaks of the epidemic (late April to early May) and in more severe peak (mid-September and mid October), the percentage mortality was just over 3 percent in its peak (first week of May) and now stays close to 1 percent.
However, the measures taken by the federal government and the City of Mexico (close restaurants and limit commercial activities), and restrictions on other countries to Mexico, resulted in the second quarter of 2009 the Gross Domestic Product fell 10 percent, the lowest level so far of the economic crisis started in 2008.
The contingency, which maintained schools and some utility companies closed from 24 April to 7 May, led some sectors such as tourism and trading losses were up to 8 billion pesos.
The pandemic also meant a stronger federal government spending, which has contributed more than 2 thousand 400 million pesos to face, through the purchase of protective materials, equipment for diagnostics, vaccines and antivirals, plus other expenses arising unquantified workload of staff, training and travel expenses for doctors who supported in other states or even in other countries.
During his appearance before the Senate on 11 March, Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova, was questioned by the decisions taken, that brought down the economy. The official defended the strategy and said that by containing the first outbreak, the following peak of the epidemic and not caused so many disasters, in reference to that between September and October showed 42.8 percent of total reported cases (31 thousand 24).
The World Health Organization are now questioning whether the measures taken were the right ones and decided to assemble a group of experts to carry out an analysis of them. This, despite a year ago endorsed the way that Mexican authorities acted.
Nevertheless, authorities and health experts do not doubt the effectiveness of control measures were those in the behavior of the pandemic in the country and attributed the low mortality rate for those decisions.
Miguel Angel Lezana, director of the National Center of Epidemiological Surveillance and Disease Control, Alejandro Mac?as, national commissioner for influenza, Victor Hugo Borja, coordinator of Epidemiological Surveillance and Contingency Support IMSS; Armando Ahued, Secretary of Health GDF, and epidemiologist Pablo Kuri, agree that further submitted an influenza epidemic, measures to take would be very similar, including school closures and suspension of business.
Tailspin
We had hospitals, where there was the bustle of the likely waiting patients consulting in intensive care areas saturated and relatives waiting for the results in the first few weeks took too long to arrive, the landscape of major cities a year ago, especially the capital was devastating.
The children were confined to the home, schools, parks and other recreation areas were closed, the companies saw their workforce drop because there parents and mothers who had to stay and care for children, and some industries have implemented programs for employees work from home, government offices closed doors, churches stopped having Sunday Mass and to the offices of the SAT, usually crowded in April, were emptied because the deadline for the annual declaration of natural persons is deferred until 1 . June.
Airports were empty because tourists stopped coming. Only in the period from 24 April to 11 May in Airport of Mexico City were left to collect about 200 million pesos worth of TUA (Airport Use Fee), due to the cancellation of 3 thousand 59 flights.
As the virus came here, nobody wanted to travel to Mexico. Countries like Peru, Ecuador, Cuba and Argentina restricted the travel of its citizens to the country and tourism fell on the beaches more than 90 percent.
In May, the hotel sector had the lowest level of occupancy in 2009 and so far in 2010 to record only a 31.20 percent capacity.
/ Amc