CONTROL:MEMORIES OF the Sars epidemic of 2002/2003 are still raw in Asia, and countries are taking aggressive steps to stop the spread of the swine flu virus – with China having quarantined all passengers who travelled there on a flight from Mexico which turned out to hold one carrier of the illness.
Chinese authorities have confined more than 50 Mexicans to hotels and other sites, fearful of the spread of the H1N1 flu, although Xu Jianguang, head of Shanghai’s municipal health bureau, said only one passenger had symptoms.
Authorities in Hong Kong were trying to track down dozens of people who could have been exposed to the 25-year-old Mexican tourist, who arrived in Hong Kong on flight AeroMexico 098 from Mexico City on Thursday following a stopover in Shanghai.
Hong Kong was very badly hit by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) and has also been vigilant against cases of avian flu from southern China. It is taking no chances in its efforts to contain the swine flu virus, with the territory’s chief executive Donald Tsang declaring a health emergency.
More than 200 guests at the hotel where the Mexican victim stayed have been quarantined for seven days since Friday.
The government said they would get free accommodation, Xinhua reported.
Many of the Mexicans in quarantine had been on that flight, but others had been travelling on other flights from Los Angeles, Newark and Vancouver.
Taiwan was also trying to track down passengers who were on the AeroMexico flight who made connections to the self-ruled island.
Of the more than 100 suspected deaths from the new H1N1 virus that have emerged in Mexico, just 19 have been confirmed. Mexico has scaled back from an earlier estimate of 176 suspected deaths.
China’s huge and densely packed population makes it especially vulnerable to a pandemic. Individuals’ temperatures are being measured at airports, and passengers arriving are required to fill out forms with assurances about their health.
The Beijing government was criticised for its tardy response to the Sars virus and is clearly taking no chances this time.
Elsewhere in the region, Korean health authorities confirmed at the weekend that a nun who recently returned from Mexico had come down with the virus.
The World Health Organisation said there were more than 600 cases of the flu globally. Confirmed flu victims have been reported in many countries including Ireland, the US, Canada, New Zealand, Israel, Switzerland and Denmark. The WHO has already raised its global pandemic alert to its second highest level, signalling an “imminent pandemic”.