Sources of information and lots of interesting surveillance...

One of Colorado public health's friends:

"James M. Wilson V, M.D., Chief Technical Officer and Chief Scientist of the Veratect Corporation: "We operate two operations centres based in the United States (one in the Washington, DC area and one in Seattle, WA) that provide animal and human infectious disease event detection and tracking globally. Both operations centres are organizationally modelled after our National Weather Service using a distinct methodology inspired by the natural disaster and meteorology communities. Our analysts handle information in the native vernacular language and have been thoroughly trained in their discipline, which include cultural-specific interpretation of the information. We are currently partnered with 14 organizations that provide us with direct ground observations in 238 countries. We are a multi-source, near-real time event detection and tracking organization.

We have been tracking the situation in Mexico since April 4."

So here is what Jim has to say:

Mexico City: WHO Expresses "Concern" Over "Influenza-Like" Illness; Classes Canceled for "Millions" of Children
Multiple national and international media sources report the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed "concern" regarding an outbreak of "influenza-like" illness in Mexico that resulted in more than 800 cases nationwide, including at least five health care workers, and 57 deaths in Mexico City alone. The WHO is cited indicating symptoms are similar to swine influenza. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that there is no confirmation of swine influenza in Mexico at this time. The Mexican Minister of Health stated that the outbreak is related to a "new" influenza virus, and classes have been canceled for "millions" of children do to the outbreak. The Ottawa Citizen, a Canadian News Source, described the outbreak as a "mysterious, SARS-like illness."

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The illness is described as initially presenting with influenza-like symptoms, but rapidly progresses to respiratory distress, followed by death in some instances. Sources indicated that the majority of deaths occurred in otherwise healthy adults ranging in age from 25 - 44 years old. WHO noted two unusual characteristics about the outbreak; the cases have not occurred in very young or elderly segments of the population and have occurred much later in the influenza season than normal. The WHO characterized both of these abnormalities as cause for "heightened concern." The CDC also stated that it was "very concerned" about the outbreak.

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Mexican health authorities have been working in conjunction with international health authorities to respond to the outbreak. WHO has activated its Strategic Health Operations Center (SHOC), but did not specify whether it was planning to send advisors to Mexico or issue a travel advisory for the country. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) stated that it was working with Mexican health officials to monitor the situation. The CDC has set up emergency operations centers in response to the outbreak in Mexico and the detection of swine influenza in the US. While some media sources have reported the US swine influenza cases in conjunction with the situation in Mexico, no confirmation of association between the two events has been declared by officials at this time.

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On 23 April, Veratect reported that the CDC confirmed seven cases of novel swine influenza A (H1N1) in California (5) and Texas (2). CDC states that the "new" virus has genes typically found in strains from North American, European, and Asian swine influenza; human influenza; and avian influenza. Additionally, the fact that none of the cases had any direct contact with pigs, as is usually noted in human cases of swine influenza, indicates there is potential for human-to-human transmission. CDC officials are preparing a vaccine against the new strain, which they cite is "standard operating procedure."

Moreover, Veratect reported on 21 April that national health officials issued a health alert due to a significant increase in influenza cases during the spring season in Mexico. The most heavily affected states were Baja California, Chihuahua, Distrito Federal (Mexico City), Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz. Health officials deny that these events constitute an epidemic, but characterize the situation as "unprecedented" due to the fact that it was occurring outside Mexico’s normal influenza season (October – February/March).