Sunday, April 26, 2009

Spain Reveals 3 Suspected Swine Flu Cases

April 26,2009

MADRID -- The Health Ministry has detected three suspected cases of swine flu in Spain in people who have returned from Mexico in recent days, Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez said Sunday.

One of the three cases of people with flu symptoms was detected Saturday night and the other two on Sunday morning in the cities of Almansa, Bilbao and Valencia, where the three people remain hospitalized, although "none of them are in serious condition."

The three are being tested and it will not be possible for 48 hours to determine conclusively whether they are suffering from the A/H1N1 virus, Jimenez said.

The minister made the announcement at a press conference after a working meeting at the ministry to analyze the swine flu outbreak in humans in Mexico and the United States.

"We not facing an emergency situation" but rather a "calm" one, Jimenez said.

Last Thursday night, when the ministry received the first communications from the World Health Organization, or WHO, it activated the pre-planned protocol in the National Preparation and Response Plan for a Flu Epidemic, Jimenez said.

The ministry, via the AENA airport authority, got in contact with the passengers who shared the flights with the three people who are being tested for swine flu and they were informed that if they start showing flu symptoms they should go to the health authorities in their respective communities as a preventive measure.

In addition, all travelers returning from Mexico or the United States are being asked to be very cautious about their health during the next 10 days, which is the estimated incubation period for this type of flu.

To accomplish this, a team of doctors from the Foreign Health Service is working at the Madrid-Barajas airport.

The Spanish government cannot recommend that citizens not travel to the affected zones and will only make that decision if it is recommended by WHO, which is maintaining a level 3 alert on the matter, Jimenez said.
-snip-
hat-tip Legadillo

No comments: