Add to your...
Are there many cases in Cancun of swine flu? Since Cancun is a very popular vacation spot many people are asking this question.
Currently the government of Quintana Roo which includes Cancun has ordered all public facilities with capacities of 80 are more people, closed as of April 28th. This includes restaurants, bars, and other facilities where tourists would frequent. Some hotels have also closed.
Currently there have been no cases of swine flu among the citizens of Cancun but vacationers from many parts of the world have developed H1N1 after vacationing in Cancun. Most of the tourists in Cancan have left after the H1N1 virus was first noticed in Mexico City. The Cancun Airport is the first airport in Mexico to install thermometers that can detect travelers who are running a fever and are being used on incoming and outgoing passengers.
Most of Mexico City has also been shut down until May 5th when this ban was lifted and Mexico City has re-opened schools, government offices and other public facilities. It is not known at this time on the status of the closures in Cancun.
This current flu epidemic was noticed in late April of this year, at the end of what would normally be the flu season. Mexico began noticing a large number of hospitalizations with flu like illnesses. Because of the number and the lateness of the year for these types of symptoms, Mexican health professionals began testing patients and identified a new strain of swine flu. The majority of these cases were reported in the area of Mexico City. Cases then began showing up in the United States and Canada from citizen who had returned from business or vacations in different regions of Mexico.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the total number of laboratory confirmed cases worldwide is currently around 2000 and that this flu has a long incubation period of a week to 10 days before symptoms begin. This means that the virus can be spread by people who don’t even realize that they are sick or infected
In Mexico it seems that this flu might have reached its peak. As of May 6th, they have currently 1112 laboratory confirmed cases of H1N1 flu with 42 deaths. In the United States, the number of laboratory confirmed cases is 896 in 41 states with 2 deaths reported in the state of Texas. Another death from H1N1 has been reported in Alberta Canada.
WHO has raised its pandemic alert level to 5 meaning that this virus spreads between humans and has spread to at least two countries and that a worldwide epidemic is imminent. But as of now they have been unable to determine the severity or fatality rate with this virus. WHO currently advises no restrictions on international travel or any border closings. Humans can not get this virus from eating pork or pork products as H1N1 is not a food born disease.