Hunter urges Obama to consider suspending cross-border travel from Mexico to U.S.
By MARK WALKER and EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writers | Monday, April 27, 2009 10:55 PM PDT 8
(60) Comments Increase Font Decrease Font email this story print this story A Customs Border Protection officer wears a mask as she questions people crossing into California at the border with Mexico on Monday. (Photo by Jamie Scott Lytle - Staff Photographer) The number of confirmed and suspected swine flu cases in San Diego and Imperial counties rose to 18 on Monday as officials expressed concern about a pandemic amid a call for restrictions on cross-border travel with Mexico.
U.S. Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-El Cajon, urged the Obama administration to consider shutting down all "nonessential" travel from Mexico to the United States.
Mexican authorities say the flu that emerged earlier this month has killed 149 people and sickened nearly 2,000 in that country.
"The swine flu presents a serious threat to the American public and we must act aggressively to ensure it's contained," Hunter said in a statement issued in Washington. "If the State Department is restricting all nonessential U.S. travel to Mexico as a precaution, similar steps should also be taken to restrict cross-border traffic entering the U.S. from Mexico.
"Given the San Diego community's close proximity to the border and the fact that nearly 340,000 people enter the U.S. through Southern California's ports of entry every day, the necessary precautions must be taken to ensure this virus does not spread any more," Hunter said.
In Washington, President Barack Obama said there was reason for concern, but not "a cause for alarm."
Earlier in the day, officials advised against most travel to Mexico as the number of confirmed U.S. cases was rising.
The European Union's top health official urged people on that continent to postpone nonessential travel to parts of the United States and Mexico.
The 50 confirmed U.S. cases included 28 at a private high school in New York City, 13 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio. Most cases were mild, and none was fatal.
Only one American case has led to a hospitalization.
Elsewhere, six cases were confirmed in Canada, two confirmed in Scotland and seven suspected there, at least 10 suspected in New Zealand, one confirmed and 17 suspected in Spain, one suspected in France and one suspected in Israel.
The U.S. government was shipping millions of doses of flu-fighting medicine from a federal stockpile to California and other states that border Mexico.
State and local health officials said five cases have been diagnosed in San Diego County, with eight more suspected.
Authorities have confirmed another five cases in Imperial County and three in Sacramento.
Dr. Wilma Wooten, San Diego County's public health officer, said officials suspect that six teachers at the Christ the Cornerstone Academy, a private elementary school in Mira Mesa, have contracted swine flu.
As a precautionary measure, the school was closed Tuesday even though tests have not confirmed that the teachers have the illness.
One of the earlier confirmed cases is a student at the school who has recovered.
Wooten said that in all the local cases, the infected people had not visited Mexico.
The county is about to receive the first shipment of anti-virals from the state and national stockpiles, she added.
A widespread outbreak could damage the tourism, food and transportation industries, some economists warned.
But most foresaw minimal effects.
As health authorities continued to sound alarms, border security officials were on the lookout for people entering the country who might be sick.
Angelica De Cima, spokeswoman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in San Diego, said people who appeared sick were being taken to a secondary inspection area for further evaluation.
While Mexico has shuttered its public schools, classes were proceeding at North County and Southwest Riverside County public schools.
Districts did not report any noticeable increase in absences and have not canceled any events.
School officials are dispensing advice about proper hygiene and sending letters home with students to warn parents about the outbreak, telling them that if their children get sick, they should be kept at home.
"The only thing, really, that we're doing is reminding schools and students of good hygiene," Carlsbad Unified School District Superintendent John Roach said. "At the moment, we're all just kind of hopeful that none of our students gets sick."
At San Diego International Airport, alerts urging people to wash their hands frequently and cover their mouths when they cough were posted throughout the passenger terminals at Lindbergh Field.
People heading to North County from outside the region have made inquiries about the swine flu, said Cami Mattson, president and chief executive of the San Diego North Convention & Visitors Bureau.
But there had been no reports of any convention cancellations, she said.
The same was true at the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, spokesman Joe Terzi said.
"We're referring people to the Centers for Disease Control and hoping it doesn’t progress significantly," Terzi said.
Swine flu is usually transmitted to humans by pigs, but public health officials are concerned about a possible pandemic because the new strain is spreading from human to human.
Four people in San Diego County came down with mild cases of the virus earlier this month.
The four, two boys ages 7 and 10 and a 54-year-old man and his 16-year-old daughter, have recovered.
Citing privacy regulations, officials will not say where those people lived.
Health officials say people should handle the swine flu like any other flu infection ---- stay home and leave to seek treatment only if necessary.
An estimated 36,000 people in the United States die annually from the seasonal flu.
As concerns spread worldwide, some countries were banning the importation of pork, even though health officials say people cannot catch the disease from processed foods.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker at nctimes.com. Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.
Fast Facts
If you think you have the flu, stay home and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
Contact a doctor if symptoms such as a high fever persist.
Related Web sites:
www.cdc.gov/flu/swine/
www.cdph.ca.gov
www.pph.org |
