Flu Spreads to Hundreds in New York as Obama Seeks $1.5 Billion
Flu Spreads to Hundreds in New York as Obama Seeks $1.5 Billion
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Flu Spreads to Hundreds in New York as Obama Seeks $1.5 Billion
2009-04-28 20:43:58.35 GMT
(For related stories, see EXT3 <GO>.)
By Tom Randall
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Swine flu probably sickened
hundreds of students, staff and family at three New York
schools, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. President Barack Obama
asked Congress for an additional $1.5 billion for the outbreak.
The virus toll has been worst in four states in Mexico, the
only country to record deaths. The U.K., Israel, Canada, New
Zealand and Spain also have confirmed cases. The World Health
Organization said it?s watching New York to see whether the
virus has become rooted in a second country, a finding that
would boost the agency?s pandemic alert system.
At least five U.S. states have confirmed outbreaks,
including New York with 45, California with 10, Texas 6, Kansas
2, and Ohio 1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reported on its Web site today. The U.S. can expect
hospitalizations and deaths, and businesses and schools should
plan for a pandemic, said Richard Besser, acting head of the
Atlanta-based CDC. Today?s 64 confirmed cases is a 60 percent
increase from yesterday.
?This is a new strain that we haven?t seen before, which
is why we are taking some extra precautions,? New York?s
Bloomberg told reporters today. The city has asked the CDC to
investigate the spread while the local officials provide
services for the sickest. ?So far, the swine flu here looks
like the garden-variety influenza that we see here every year,?
Bloomberg said.
New York Cases
New York, America?s largest city, has about 45 confirmed
cases, most originating at St. Francis Preparatory School in
Queens, Bloomberg said. At P.S. 177, a public school for
autistic children, 82 students have called in sick, he said. Six
students are being tested at Ascension school in Manhattan?s
Upper West Side, the mayor said. Most family and staff suspected
of having the flu haven?t been tested, Bloomberg said.
Two other people, a woman in Brooklyn and a boy in the
Bronx, were hospitalized with suspected cases associated with
travel to Mexico, Bloomberg said.
Five people with confirmed swine flu cases have been
hospitalized in the U.S., Besser said.
WHO raised its global pandemic alert yesterday, saying the
disease is no longer containable and health authorities need to
prepare for outbreaks. It?s the first time the warning has been
raised to a level 4 since the six-step system was adopted in
2005. It had been at level 3 since 2007, when it was elevated
for an outbreak of avian flu.
A pandemic, rated 6 on WHO?s alert system, is an unexpected
outbreak of a new contagious disease that spreads from person to
person across borders. In such cases, almost no one has natural
immunity.
Better Coordination
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama
requested more money today to help build stockpiles of anti-
viral drugs, work on vaccines and coordinate the U.S. response
with other governments.
The money is meant ?to ensure we have the resources
available? at federal, state and local levels to deal with any
wider spread of the virus, Gibbs said.
The biggest concern is whether the virus is spreading
outside Mexico, said Keiji Fukuda, WHO?s assistant director-
general for health security and environment on a conference call
today with reporters.
WHO is tracking the speed and ferocity of the New York-
based transmissions with U.S. and state health officials to
determine how the flu may spread in the future, Fukuda said.
Too Early to Say
?There is definitely the possibility that this virus can
establish that kind of community-wide outbreak capacity in
multiple countries,? Fukuda said. ?It?s a very serious
possibility, but it?s still too early to say that it?s
inevitable.?
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today declared a
state of emergency to help the most populous U.S. state, with 37
million people, prepare for an outbreak. California health
officials said today on the state?s Web site they had confirmed
an 11th case, though the added instance was not reflected in the
CDC data.
Schwarzenegger ordered state agencies to use whatever
government personnel, equipment and facilities needed to help
the California Department of Public Health. He also authorized
the agency, along with the state?s Emergency Medical Services
Authority, to enter contracts with private companies without
competitive bids.
No Need for Alarm
?While there is no need for alarm, it is the governor?s
top priority to limit the swine flu?s spread as quickly and
effectively as possible,? Schwarzenegger?s press secretary
Aaron McLear said in a statement.
More than 152 people have died in Mexico with suspected
swine flu, and the number of worldwide cases confirmed by
laboratory tests reached 79, officials said. Japan today
suspended visa-free entry for Mexican nationals, while Asian
countries, including Singapore and South Korea, are screening
air passengers. The Geneva-based WHO isn?t recommending travel
restrictions. restricting movement of people or goods,? Chan said.
The Mexican government requested that bars, movie theaters
and churches close in Mexico City. It also extended its
school closure to May 6 and may shut down more activities.
?We?re in a pre-pandemic phase and it?s going to be hard
to know until we?re much further along what this is going to
progress to,? Besser, the acting CDC head, said today in an
interview. ?Given the case in Mexico, where we?re seeing much
more severe disease, I would expect we?re going to find
hospitalized individuals and, unfortunately, I expect we will
see deaths in this country.?
Defining a Pandemic
Scientists are trying to determine why swine flu, a
respiratory disease caused by a type-A influenza virus, has been
more severe in Mexico.
?In terms of defining a pandemic, there is no requirement
that it cause severe disease,? said Arnold Monte, a scientist
at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. ?It doesn?t have to
be killing millions. The virus may be bad in terms of the
likelihood of getting infected, but not necessarily in terms of
severity.?
The World Bank, in a worst-case scenario published in
October, said a flu pandemic that?s similar in scope to the 1918
outbreak known as the Spanish flu could kill 71 million people
worldwide and push the economy into a ?major global recession?
costing more than $3 trillion.
WHO?s raised level indicates health officials need to
prepare for a pandemic, though it isn?t inevitable, Fukuda said.
Dynamic Situation
?The situation is very fluid, very dynamic, and it is
rapidly evolving,? said Tim Uyeki, an epidemiologist in the
CDC?s flu division. ?The cases in the U.S. don?t have any links
to contact with pigs. This appears to be ongoing human-to-human
transmission.?
Production of influenza vaccine for seasonal outbreaks,
which U.S. health officials have said is ineffective against the
new flu, should continue, Fukuda said. The WHO is working with
companies to prepare for a swine-flu vaccine, and would help
produce it if the outbreak becomes a pandemic, he said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration signed emergency
authorizations yesterday that will permit the CDC to use an
unapproved lab test for swine flu and more dosing options than
currently recommended for influenza treatments Tamiflu, sold by
Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG, and Relenza, from London-based
GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
Antiviral Stockpiles
There are enough stockpiles of Tamiflu to meet current
demand, said Roche spokesman Terence Hurley. Roche has the
capacity to manufacture, over one year, enough courses of
treatment for 400 million people, Hurley said by telephone.
Glaxo has increased production of its antiviral Relenza and
is in contact with the WHO and CDC, said a Glaxo spokeswoman,
Sarah Alspach.
U.S. officials yesterday recommended that nonessential
travel to Mexico be avoided and the European Union told
travelers to avoid outbreak areas.
Governments in Asia heightened their alert for the spread
of the virus. Japan advised its own citizens to defer trips to
the Latin American nation.
South Korea raised its national disaster level to yellow
from blue, the lowest on its scale, after it found one suspected
case of swine flu, the health ministry said today.
Airport Screening
Cambodia is installing thermal scanners at its two
international airports to identify passengers who show symptoms
of swine flu, joining Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and
South Korea among nations screening air travelers.
Swine flu results in symptoms similar to those of seasonal
influenza, such as fever, lethargy and cough, and may also cause
nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC.
Swine-flu viruses aren?t transmitted by food, and eating
properly handled and cooked pork is safe, according to the CDC.
There?s no evidence the disease is spread by exposure to ?pork
or pigs,? WHO?s Fukuda said.
Indonesia said today it will destroy all imported pork and
swine products and fumigate agricultural goods bought from
Canada, the U.S. and Mexico as a precaution.
China, the world?s top pork consumer, banned imports of
swine products from Mexico and parts of the U.S. The Philippines
also barred pork product imports from Canada, the U.S. and
Mexico.
If the world is facing a pandemic, ?this is a nice, gentle
pandemic,? said John Oxford, a virologist at Queen Mary?s
School of Medicine in London. ?Virulence seems low.?
For Related News and Information:
Top government stories: TOP GOV <GO>
Today?s most popular health-care stories: MNI HEA <GO>
Top health stories: HTOP <GO>
News about influenza: NI FLU <GO>
Stories about drugs: NI DRG BN <GO>
For swine flu, see EXT3 <GO>
--With assistance from Michelle Cortez and Edward Evans in
London; Dermot Doherty and Naomi Kresge in Geneva; Beth Jinks,
Shannon Pettypiece, Lisa Rapaport and Alex Nussbaum in New York;
John Lauerman in Boston; Hans Nichols, Catherine Larkin and
Edwin Chin in Washington; Thomas Black in Monterrey, Mexico;
Francisco Marcelino in Sao Paolo; Jason Gale and Simeon
Bennett in Singapore, and Michael Marois in Sacramento. Editors:
Kurt Heine, Andrew Pollack
