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Back from Mexico? Watch for flu-like symptoms

Apr 23, 2009 09:13 AM
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Megan Ogilvie
Health Reporter

Public health officials are asking Canadians who have recently returned from Mexico to be on the alert for flu-like symptoms that could be related to a severe respiratory illness that has surfaced in parts of that country.

Mexican authorities have reported that a severe respiratory illness has infected hundreds of people in various locations in south and central Mexico. Infected individuals have ended up in hospital and on ventilators, and at least 20 patients have died over a four-week period.

It is not yet clear if the cases represent an outbreak due to a single organism or whether they represent a coincidental spike in isolated cases, said Dr. Andrew Simor, head of microbiology and infectious diseases at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Some infected individuals in Mexico have tested positive for influenza A and B viruses.

“They don’t seem to be new strains at this time,” Simor said. “This does not appear to the avian influenza or some other new strain.”

There have not yet been any reports of the illness outside Mexico, health officials say.

“At this point in time, the public needs to be reassured there really is no significant risk to people living in Ontario or living in Canada,” said Simor. “And even the risk of travellers to Mexico at this point in time is exceedingly low.”

People should not alter vacation plans to Mexico at this time, he said.
Travellers should be aware of potential symptoms and should consider getting a flu shot as a prudent preventive measure, Simor said. The reported cases are not in the tourist hot-spots along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

The severity of the cases has prompted Canadian public health officials to advise public health units and doctors to be on the lookout for severe respiratory illness, particularly in individuals who have returned from Mexico within the last two weeks.

The illness appears to be flu-like with symptoms of fever, aches and pains, sore throats, coughing and trouble breathing, said Simor.

People who have recently returned from Mexico and who are experiencing these symptoms are being asked to see a doctor.

In Mexico, infected individuals first reported flu-like symptoms, which rapidly progressed to severe respiratory distress in about five days. Most cases occurred in previously healthy young adults between the ages of 25 and 44, according to public health reports.

Dr. Allison McGeer, director of infection control at Mount Sinai Hospital, also said there is little risk to Canadians at this time.

However, she said, the surveillance alerts from Mexico and the advisories sent by Canadian public health officials are the appropriate response to the cases of severe respiratory illness in Mexico. The response is due to lessons learned from SARS, she said.

“We are much more alert to potential new problems and we are moving a lot faster,” she said.