Holiday rentals news - Swine flu: travel advice for Mexico

Swine flu: travel advice for Mexico

The Foreign Office (FCO) has updated its advice for travel to Mexico following the outbreak of swine flu. No information has been issued advising against travel to Mexico, but those in the country should take certain precautions.

Visitors to Mexico should be aware of an outbreak of influenza, advises the FCO. Under the advice issued by the Mexican Secretariat of Health, anyone travelling to Mexico should avoid large crowds, shaking hands, kissing people or using the subway.

Visitors are also advised that keeping a distance of at least six feet from other people and frequent hand washing may decrease the risk of exposure to swine flu. Travellers should consult a doctor immediately if they show signs of flu like symptoms. Cases of swine flu have been reported in Mexico City as well as in the states of Oaxaca, San Luis Potosi, Mexicala and Baja California.

At least 103 people in Mexico have died so far from swine flu, according to reports in The Times. The virus has spread across the border to the US, which has declared a public health emergency. Cases have also been confirmed in Canada, while outbreaks are also suspected in Israel, France, Spain and New Zealand.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is treating the outbreak as a "public health emergency of international concern" and is asking all countries to step up screening of passengers travelling from Mexico. Britain's health secretary, Alan Johnson, has promised that travellers returning to Britain from Mexico displaying flu like symptoms will be examined "very, very quickly" by the NHS.

A decision by the WHO as to whether to raise the alert level to four, on a scale of one to six, will be made today. This would signal that health authorities should prepare for a pandemic.

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