EUROPEAN RESPONSE:EUROPEAN HEALTH commissioner Androulla Vassiliou has warned the public not to travel to areas affected by swine flu.
She issued the personal warning shortly before Spain confirmed the first case of the potentially deadly virus in Europe yesterday.
Spanish health authorities said the man confirmed with swine flu returned to Spain from Mexico on April 22nd and was placed under observation on April 25th with chest problems.
Twenty other patients are under observation with suspected swine flu, although the health authorities said they were all in a stable condition.
EU health ministers will meet on Thursday to discuss how to co-ordinate efforts to contain the flu outbreak.
Ms Vassiliou told the media EU citizens should take precautions to try to stop the virus spreading.
“Personally, I would try to avoid non-essential travel to the areas which are reported to be in the centre of the clusters in order to minimise the personal risk and to reduce the potential risk to spread the infection to other people.
“I would also suggest to travellers to seek immediate medical advice if they have any of the symptoms described.”
Asked for details, Ms Vassiliou said: “They should avoid travelling to Mexico or the United States unless it’s very urgent for them.”
In a briefing to EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Ms Vassiliou said diseases like swine flu were of concern because they could represent a global challenge, in particular because of frequent international travel.
“We have to be extremely prudent in assessing the current situation, in order to understand precisely the mechanism of transmission, to evaluate the potential danger to the health of citizens, and the resources to treat patients,” she added.
Germany has already advised against all non-essential travel to Mexico. German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he expected all EU members to issue similar warnings.
France and Spain had issued the same warning as Germany and the UK was considering doing likewise, he added.