Thursday, the European Union is expected to consider suspending all air traffic from EU nations to Mexico in the wake of concerns about the spread of swine flu. The EU is considering the measure at the request of France, which has not had any confirmed cases of swine flu.
It may already be too late, however, to stop the spread of swine flu in Europe. Spain has 10 confirmed cases of the illness and Wednesday announced its first case in a person who had not traveled to Mexico recently. There are five confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK, three in Germany, and one in Austria.
U.S. Travel Restrictions to Follow?
European health officials also have been advising people not to travel to the areas hardest hit by the swine flu, which includes some areas in the United States, as well as Mexico. The U.S. has reported 91 confirmed cases of the sickness, which makes it the second most affected country by the outbreak. Today, the first death from swine flu in the U.S. was confirmed in a 23-month-old Mexican boy who became ill while visiting relatives in Texas.
The U.S. has been reluctant to restrict travel to and from Mexico, although Texas Gov. Rick Perry suggested it was an option. American health officials seem to be treading cautiously in order to avert public panic. They point out that thousands of Americans die each year from seasonal flu and it’s too early to tell how severe the swine flu outbreak will be.
Asian Countries Fighting Flu at Border
Health officials in other nations have been far less reticent. Asian countries, in particular, have been taking aggressive steps to try to stem the spread of the swine flu to their nations. In Japan, doctors and nurses have boarded planes arriving from Mexico and screened passengers for any signs of the illness. In South Korea and several other countries, thermal imaging scanners were being used to detect any elevated temperatures in arriving passengers. South Korea has several suspected cases of swine flu. So far, Asian nations have stopped short of travel restrictions, but officials hinted they may be coming.
"If the situation deteriorates further, it is inevitable that international travel will be materially dented as it was evident during the case of SARS," said Lim Hwee Hua, of the Singapore Ministry for Finance and Transportation.
Australia, which has 91 suspected cases of swine flu, announced that it will begin monitoring international arrivals more closely for patients with flu-like symptoms.
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