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WHO showers accolades on Mexico, warns swine flu is unstoppable

China's Health Minister Chen Zhu apologized to his Mexican counterpart at the two-day summit in Mexico. In May Mexican authorities had to charter a plane to bring back 136 of its nationals from China after they were thrown into isolation due to the swine flu scare

by Jamie Anderson – July 4, 2009 Mexico, July 3: Day one of the two-day summit in Cancun, Mexico, where the meeting of global health officials is being held, saw World Health Organization Director Dr. Margaret Chan cautioning that the spread of the dreaded H1N1 virus cannot be halted, making travel restrictions to affected countries [...]

Mexico ready to rebound from H1N1 scare

By KRISTIN FINAN HOUSTON CHRONICLE If you took Mexico off your “to go” list during the H1N1 flu scare, it’s time to reconsider: All that bad press is translating to major bargains for summer travelers. “It would not be unusual to see packages now on sale from 30 (percent) to 50 percent below what [...]

Fearless travelers can cash in on Mexico’s post-flu deals

Christine Delsol, Special to SFGate.com The San Francisco Chronicle Wednesday, May 28, 2009 It’s been two weeks since the State Department and the Centers for Disease Controllifted their travel warnings on travel to Mexico, and the deals are rolling in. The CDC lifted its recommendation against nonessential travel to Mexico on May 15, citing evidence that Mexico’s flu [...]

Mexico’s Shock Doctrine – The Swine Flu Hype

The Swine Flu Hype Mexico’s Shock Doctrine By JOHN ROSS Upon returning to Mexico City after 100 days in Gringolandia dealing with a personal health crisis, I was met at the door of the downtown hotel where I have bedded down for the past quarter century by a uniformed security guard in jackboots and blue [...]

Mexico, US, Canada announce swine flu deaths

Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) – Authorities in Mexico announced three more swine flu deaths and the United States and Canada one more death each as the world’s largest vaccine maker signed a deal with the United States to produce a swine flu vaccine. The World Health Organization says at least 46 countries have confirmed more [...]

The H1N1 Virus – A Challenge for Mexico and the World

Monday, May 25, 2009 By Allan Wall Mexdata.info It’s commonly referred to as the “Swine Flu,” and in some circles as the “Mexican Flu” due to its outbreak in Mexico. Clinically it’s known as “novel influenza A (H1N1).” Whatever you call it, it’s still spreading worldwide. Besides the threat to public health, H1N1 raises a [...]

Hold The Panic: Swine Flu Falls Short Of Pandemic

By Richard Knox NPR.org Listen to the full story Why has the World Health Organization decided not to call the swine flu a pandemic, even though more than three weeks ago it declared that a pandemic was “imminent?” Why No Flu Pandemic? Define Pandemic. Margaret Chan, the World Health Organization’s director-general, has decided not to [...]

W.H.O. to Rewrite Its Pandemic Rules

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. Published: May 22, 2009 Bowing to pressure, the World Health Organization announced Friday that it would rewrite its rules for alerting the world to new diseases, meaning the swine flu circling the globe will probably never be declared a full-fledged pandemic. Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the deputy director general making the W.H.O. announcement, said that he [...]

Mexico Goes On Sale

By SARAH NASSAUER The Wall Street Journal With a clean bill of health and a lifted travel ban, Mexico tries to draw tourists back with deals and perks. Everything for the wedding was ready — the on-site florists, photographers, and a 35-foot acrylic platform built over the blue ocean water at the Rosewood Mayakoba resort near [...]

Mexico and AeroMexico welcomes back travellers

Travel Blackboard Thursday, 21 May 2009 After many countries, including the United State and Canada, lifted the travel warnings concerning travel to Mexico, major industry players like the Mexico Tourism Board and AeroMexico are encouraging travellers back. With local tourism industry decimated by fears of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus, Mexico is hoping for a swift [...]

Go 2 Guy: On the take in Puerto Vallarta

By JIM MOORE SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COM PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico — Ninety-nine percent of the time, unemployment sucks. Welcome to my one percent. I’m sitting on a white-cushioned chaise lounge at the St. Regis Punta Mita in a scene from a travel magazine. The infinity pool is behind me, the Pacific Ocean is in front of me, [...]

Foreign & Commonwealth Office reviews Mexico travel advice

Christy Wyatt 18 May 2009 FCO no longer advising against travel following swine flu outbreak The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) is no longer advising against all but essential travel to Mexico, following the global outbreak of swine flu. The FCO revised its travel advice late last week. A statement on the organisation’s website says: [...]

Handshakes, high fives return as US flu fears wane

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US traditions of handshakes at graduation and slapping a high five during sports competitions were banned when fears of a swine flu pandemic were at their peak, but are gingerly making a comeback. “Did you see that? We touched skin,” an 11-year-old boy said after he and his baseball teammates tapped [...]

Swine flu travel warning lifted for Mexico

LA TImes The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, Friday lifted its recommendation that U.S. citizens avoid nonessential travel to Mexico because of the swine flu outbreak there, and the U.S. State Department followed suit. Cruise and tour operators wasted no time trumpeting the news, although port calls may not resume immediately. In lifting its warning, the CDC [...]

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Travel Alert – Mexico – H1N1 Lifted

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEBureau of Consular Affairs Mexico – H1N1 Lifted May 15, 2009 The Department of State wishes to inform U.S. citizens traveling to and residing in Mexico that on May 15 2009, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lifted its recommendation that American citizens avoid all nonessential travel to [...]

Flu? What Flu?

by ELISABETH MALKIN Published: May 8, 2009 MEXICO CITY — If you are looking for a cheap travel destination, try Mexico. Short of war, Mexico has endured about the worst calamity that can befall a country’s tourism industry over the last few weeks. A few people who had traveled here came down with what looked, initially, like [...]

Mexico flu response blends into election campaign

Amid midterm electioneering, President Felipe Calderon touts his government’s ‘firm decisions’ and says the world is in Mexico’s debt. But an opposition leader points to a ‘virus of ineptitude.’ By Ken Ellingwood May 9, 2009 LA Times Reporting from Mexico City — Mexican President Felipe Calderon sounded victorious when he went before his nation [...]

The Crisis Came. Mexico Didn’t Fail. Surprised?

By LARRY ROHTER Published: May 9, 2009 New York Times MEXICO CITY – Just for argument’s sake, let’s compare Mexico’s management of the swine flu epidemic that broke out here last month with China’s handling of SARS in 2002. The Chinese initially tried to deny there was an outbreak, were slow to combat its spread [...]

Even as Fears of Flu Ebb, Mexicans Feel Stigma

By MARC LACEY and ANDREW JACOBS Published: May 4, 2009 NY Times MEXICO CITY — Medical experts are calling the new influenza virus A(H1N1), but for many Mexicans it is simply a scarlet A. From Chile, where sports officials declined to host Mexican soccer teams, to China, where the authorities forced even healthy resident Mexicans and Mexican travelers into [...]

Lower Mexico flu death toll heartens nervous world

Sat May 2, 2009 11:51am IST Reuters By Catherine Bremer MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – In a glint of good news for a world rattled by the threat of a flu pandemic, new laboratory data showed fewer people have died in Mexico than first thought from a deadly new influenza strain. Mexico cut its suspected death [...]

Flu response downshifts as fears lessen

Chicago Breaking News May 1, 2009 8:47 PM On a day when federal health officials confirmed the first cases of suspected swine flu in Illinois, it also seemed clearer to health officials today that this strain of flu wasn’t becoming the killer once feared, and the state’s reaction to the outbreak downshifted in response. The flu [...]

Scientists see this flu strain as relatively mild

Genetic data indicate this outbreak won’t be as deadly as that of 1918, or even the average winter. By Karen Kaplan and Alan Zarembo April 30, 2009 LA Times As the World Health Organization raised its infectious disease alert level Wednesday and health officials confirmed the first death linked to swine flu inside U.S. borders, [...]