Swine Flu Watch: Japan ramps up, Mexico winds down
>>Spread of Swine Flu Puts Japan in Crisis Mode
On Thursday, confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu virus in Japan reached 279, centering on Kobe and the neighboring city of Osaka, in western Japan. Like many other countries, Japan has reported mild flu cases and no deaths. Still, it is in crisis mode: more than 4,800 schools have been closed in the region, medical services are swamped, and testing laboratories are working around the clock.
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The outbreak has come as a particular shock for hygiene-obsessed Japan, where hand-washing is religiously taught in schools, children play in sanitized sandboxes, and everything from underwear to ballpoint pens comes with supposed antibacterial properties.
Full Article: here.
>>Mexico City ends swine flu alert, no cases in week
Mexico City lowered its swine flu alert level from yellow to green on Thursday, and the mayor said “we can relax” now that there have been no new infections for a week.
City Health Secretary Armando Ahued said nobody has been hospitalized with respiratory infections in the last three days, and no swine flu cases have been confirmed since May 14. “We are seeing a 96.1 percent drop in cases, and that’s why we are dropping the alert level to green today,” Ahued said.
Full Article: here.
