Asia Ramps up Flu Protection

By Park Sae-jin Posted : April 28, 2009, 17:44 Updated : April 28, 2009, 17:44
   
 
A woman walks past a screen broadcasting news about the swine flu in downtown Beijing, China, Tuesday, April 28, 2009.
China announced strengthened quarantine measures Tuesday while doctors in South Korea, New Zealand and Australia examined travelers returned from Mexico for possible swine flu.

No cases of the deadly new virus have yet been confirmed in the Asia-Pacific region, but countries were ramping up vigilance to deter the spread of the disease.

The epicenter of the outbreak remained in Mexico, where 149 people were suspected to have died and nearly 2,000 people believed to be infected. Worldwide there were other 73 cases, including 42 in the United States, six in Canada, one in Spain and two in Scotland.

New Zealand was waiting to hear the results of tests on 10 high school students and teachers who recently returned from a trip to Mexico who officials said are likely have swine flu. The answer was expected within days.

Two students and a parent in a group from another group tested negative for flu infection and likely do not have swine flu, officials said Tuesday.

"The three were tested and found negative for influenza," Ministry of Health planning coordinator Steve Brazier, said. "This is an important preliminary step in ruling out swine flu — the disease currently causing illness and deaths in Mexico."

Health Minister Tony Ryall said another 56 New Zealanders who returned home from North America or Mexico in the past two weeks who have flu-like symptoms and are being checked for swine flu.

In South Korea, a 51-year-old woman was being tested for swine flu, said Jun Byong-yul, an official at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

She was among three people reported to have flu symptoms after making trips to Mexico. The two others tested negative for swine flu, Jun said.

The woman, who returned from Mexico via Los Angeles on Sunday, was being quarantined at her home near Seoul and was administered with antiviral drugs, the official said.

Results of the testing were expected as early as Wednesday, Jun said.

State health authorities in Australia were also testing people who presented with flu symptoms — such as fever, sore throats and aches and pains — for swine flu. A handful were cleared of swine flu and health officials were handing out antiviral drugs and telling sick people to stay home.

Health authorities say antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza appear to be effective in combatting swine flu if the treatment is given early enough.

In China, health authorities have boosted quarantine measures and instructed hospitals to step up monitoring and testing amid preparations for a swine flu outbreak.

The China Daily reported Tuesday that the Beijing municipal health bureau has told hospitals to monitor flu-like illnesses more closely and to carry out epidemiological research and laboratory tests on such cases.

The paper says health authorities in the southern province of Guangdong have "strengthened quarantine measures" but did not go into specifics.

China's south has been the breeding ground for diseases that jump between animals and humans because they often live in close proximity.

(AP)
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