President Barack Obama's health is fine a little more than a week after he traveled to Mexico, where an outbreak of swine flu has killed at least 68 people and sickened more than 1,000, the White House said Saturday.
Swine flu 'emergency: U.S. 20, no panic
by Jim Tankersley
Federal officials today declared a public health emergency involving human swine flu, warning Americans to prepare for widespread outbreaks now or in the future, yet urging them not to panic.
In a briefing at the White House, the acting head of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Richard Besser, confirmed a 20th case of the flu, this one in Ohio. He said the government will likely find more casesand cases that are more severe than the relatively mild ones seen in the United States so faras it ramps up detection efforts.
Janet Napolitano,Homeland Security secretary, said the government would release a quarter of its 50 million-unit strategic reserve of antiviral medications, which combat the disease in infected patients, to states where outbreaks have occurred. Besser said the CDC has begun laying the groundwork to manufacture a swine flu vaccine if one
becomes necessary.
The officials cast the moves as aggressive but precautionary, and they counseled calm.
Swine flu is "serious enough to be a great concern to this White House and to this government," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on NBC'S "Meet the Press," adding that President Obama is receiving frequent updates on the situation.
"We are taking the proper precautions to address anything that happens," Gibbs said. "It's not a time to panic."
Napolitano said the "emergency" declaration was a routine move to ensure the government is prepared "in an environment where we really don't know, ultimately, what the size or seriousness of this outbreak is going to be."
A swine flu outbreak in Mexico is being blamed for at least 1,000 infections and 81 deaths. There have been 20 reported cases in the United States, none fatal. That includes cases in California, Kansas, Texas, Ohio and New York, where officials confirmed infections today in eight students of a private high school in Queens.
The U.S. patients have ranged in age from 9 to 50. All are recovering or have recovered.
Only one U.S. patient has been hospitalized so far, Besser said. But given the experience in Mexico, he said he expected "that over time, we are going to see more severe disease in this country."
"This is moving fast," Besser added later, "but I want you to understand that we view this more as a marathon."
The symptoms of swine flu are nearly identical to the symptoms of other influenza,
including high fever, aches, coughing and congestion. It appears to spread through human-to-human contact and human contact with live pigs, but not by eating pork products, officials said.
Countries around the world moved quickly to limit the disease's spread today. Some issued travel warnings for the United States or Mexico. Others began screening some incoming international air travelers for signs of high fever.
Besser and other officials at the press conference stressed simple steps that the U.S. public can take to limit spread of the disease: Wash hands frequently, stay home, and don't board airplanes, if you feel sick, and keep ill children out of school.
Gibbs said it was too early to speculate about economic impacts from an outbreak. And he dismissed reporters who asked if the federal response was hampered by the fact that the Senate has not yet confirmed President Obama's nominee to lead the Health and Human Services department, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas.
"It's all hands on deck and we're doing fine," Gibbs said. "I would say that we hope we have a new secretary shortly."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Benchmarking Obama: The First 100 Days
This Wednesday will mark the 100th day President Barack Obama has been in office, a time to assess the new administration's progress. The president is taking on his job at a tough time in history — the economy is in a recession and the country is involved in two wars. And yet, he remains popular. This week, NPR will be airing stories each day that measure the president's progress in key areas against the goals he set for his presidency.
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