New U.S. swine flu cases spread pandemic fears

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>>Because cases are spreading in the U.S.<<... 2 in Kansas and 8 maybe's in NYC = a spreading pandemic?===========http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30398682New U.S. swine flu cases spread pandemic fears2 cases announced in Kansas; 8 kids likely affected in NYC Video   Will swine flu become pandemic?  April 25: Fear of the swine flu becoming pandemic are rising as museums, libraries and theaters are closing in Mexico. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.MSNBC Video   CDC 'very worried' about pandemic potential  April 25: NBC’s Amy Robach speaks with Dr. Richard Besser, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Today show Q & A Swine fluLearn about the virus found in pigs and why it is causing concern among health officials.msnbc.com   Related stories     What’s this? Swine Flu Causes Concern In Nebraska5,000 evacuated after hazardous acid spill  WHO calls emergency meeting on swine fluSwine Flu May Be SpreadingObama kept up-to-date on Mexico's swine flu   Most popular Most viewed Top rated Most e-mailed   'Golden Girls' star Bea Arthur dies at 86  Health officials prepare for swine flu 'pandemic'10 surprising sex statisticsCalif. woman sentenced for illegal abortionsMissing 3-year-old's body found in N.J. riverMost viewed on msnbc.com msnbc.com news servicesupdated less than 1 minute agoWorries that the new swine flu strain that has killed as many as 68 people and sickened more than 1,000 across Mexico has “pandemic potential” increased with the announcement that the virus had spread to Kansas, and likely to New York City.On Saturday, two new cases of swine flu were confirmed in Kansas. And New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden announced that tests showed that eight New York schoolchildren had a type A influenza virus that was likely the swine flu.Samples have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further testing for confirmation. The students showed mild flu symptoms.It may be too late to contain the sudden outbreak, warned t he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has stepped up surveillance across the United States. "We are worried," said the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat.“We don’t think we can contain the spread of this virus,” said Schuchat, Interim Deputy Director for Science and Public Health Program. “We are likely to find it in many other places.”Because cases are spreading in the U.S. and in several sites in Mexico, officials now must work to detect infections and reduce their severity, if possible.“It’s time to prepare, time to think ahead and to be prepared for some uncertainty,” Schuchat told reporters in a telephone briefing on Saturday.Two dozen new suspected cases were reported Saturday in Mexico City alone, schools were closed and all public events suspended in the capital until further notice — including more than 500 concerts and other gatherings in the metropolis of 20 million.A hot line fielded 2,366 calls in its first hours from frightened city residents who suspected they might have the disease. Soldiers and health workers handed out masks at subway stops, and hospitals dealt with crowds of people seeking help.The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. still stands at eight, all in California and Texas. The Texas health department announced Saturday that Byron Steele High School in Cibolo, near San Antonio, will temporarily close as local health and school officials work to keep the virus from spreading.Swine flu was confirmed earlier this month in two students from the school, and a third student is listed as a probable case with confirmatory lab test results pending.  The original two have recovered, and the third is recovering. "The purpose is to reduce the risk to students, staff and the community," said Sandra Guerra, M.D., the public health authority for Guadalupe County, Texas.The World Health Organization’s director-general, Margaret Chan, said the outbreak of the never-before-seen virus is a very serious situation and has “pandemic potential.” But she said it is still too early to tell if it would become a pandemic.“The situation is evolving quickly,” Chan said in a telephone news conference in Geneva. “A new disease is by definition poorly understood.”This virus is a mix of human, pig and bird strains that prompted WHO to meet Saturday to consider declaring an international public health emergency — a step that could lead to travel advisories, trade restrictions and border closures. Spokesman Gregory Hartl said a decision would not be made Saturday.Scientists have warned for years about the potential for a pandemic from viruses that mix genetic material from humans and animals. Another reason to worry is that authorities said the dead so far don’t include vulnerable infants and elderly. The Spanish flu pandemic, which killed at least 40 million people worldwide in 1918-19, also first struck otherwise healthy young adults.This swine flu and regular flu can have similar symptoms — mostly fever, cough and sore throat, though some of the U.S. victims who recovered also experienced vomiting and diarrhea. But unlike with regular flu, humans don’t have natural immunity to a virus that includes animal genes — and new vaccines can take months to bring into use.But experts at the WHO and the CDC say the nature of this outbreak may make containment impossible. Already, more than 1,000 people have been infected in as many as 14 of Mexico’s 32 states, according to daily newspaper El Universal. Tests show 20 people have died of the swine flu, and 48 other deaths were probably due to the same strain.The CDC and Canadian health officials were studying samples sent from Mexico, and airports around the world were screening passengers from Mexico for symptoms of the new flu strain, saying they may quarantine passengers.But CDC officials dismissed the idea of trying that in the United States. They noted there had been no direct contact between the cases in the San Diego and San Antonio areas, suggesting the virus had already spread from one geographic area through other undiagnosed people. Video   What are the symptoms of swine flu?   April 25: Dr. Holly Atkinson joins NBC’s Lester Holt to shed some light on the virus that has killed up to 68 people in Mexico and infected 8 in the United States.Today show “Anything that would be about containing it right now would purely be a political move,” said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota pandemic expert.Mexican President Felipe Calderon said his government only discovered the nature of the virus late Thursday, with the help of international laboratories. “We are doing everything necessary,” he said in a brief statement.But the government had said for days that its growing flu caseload was nothing unusual, so the sudden turnaround angered many who wonder if Mexico missed an opportunity to contain the outbreak.“Why did it break out, where did it break out? What’s the magnitude of the problem?” pizzeria owner David Vasquez said while taking his family to a movie Friday night, despite warnings to stay out of theaters.Across Mexico’s capital, residents reacted with fatalism and confusion, anger and mounting fear at the idea that their city may be ground zero for a global epidemic.Authorities urged people to stay home if they feel sick and to avoid shaking hands or kissing people on the cheeks.Outside Hospital Obregon in the capital’s middle-class Roma district, a tired Dr. Roberto Ortiz, 59, leaned against an ambulance and sipped coffee Saturday on a break from an unusually busy shift. =====In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.