Swine flu kills dozens in Mexico

Swine flu kills 60 people and sickens 1,000  others in Mexico

60 people have died and hundreds more have been infected by a viral outbreak in Mexico believed to be a new strain of swine flu.

The cases are centered around Mexico City since mid-March, World Health Organization (WHO) said, prompting the authorities to close schools and launching a vaccination campaign in affected areas.

57  people died in Mexico City and another three in San Luis Potosi in central Mexico, with nearly a 1,000 suspected cases reported.

The infections follow seven non-fatal cases of a new form of swine flu confirmed in California and Texas, where tests are being carried out to establish if the two strains are linked.

Mexico’s Health Minister said the virus seems to have  “mutated from pigs and then at some point was transmitted to humans.”

“This is the first time that we’ve seen an avian strain, two swine strains and a human strain,” a spokesperson for the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told the media.

The seven victims in the United States had NOT been in contact with pigs, which is how the swine flu virus would normally have been transmitted.

Related Links:

• New type of swine flu hits California and Texas