Hooked On Asia

Asia, previously blighted by SARS and H5N1 bird flu, is as ready as anywhere can be for ‘swine flu’.

It was in 1997 that bird flu first appeared in Hong Kong and started talk of a modern-day pandemic. It appeared again in 2003 and since then the virus has gone on to claim lives around the world.

The reality is that influenza , no matter what the strain, is a killer, with hundreds of thousands of lives lost every year.

The concern at the World Health Organisation is that these new strains of influenza could lead to a spread of the disease at a pandemic rate. I am sure the organisation will always err on the side of caution.

Buffeted by bird flu, it was also in 2003 that Asia had to contend with SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which started in China and spread quickly through the region and around the world.

It was not long before people were wearing masks on the streets of Hong Kong and Singapore just as they are now in Mexico City. Procedures were established to monitor the health of arriving passengers and these same procedures, and monitoring equipment, have been rolled out again in the battle against influenza.

According to this report from Reuters:

Vietnam scans temperatures and looks for signs of respiratory infections from people arriving from U.S., Canada and Mexico. Health official says people should take precautions similar to those in 2003 when Asia battled SARS: wear face masks and report to authorities fever and coughing whose cause is unknown.

Singapore – Scanners measure temperature of passengers from U.S. just before they undergo immigration checks. Health ministry says members of public are advised to postpone or avoid non-essential travel to Mexico.

Thailand – Temperature screening checkpoints at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

With two cases of swine flu now confirmed in the UK, passengers from here I suspect are also being screened.

At the time of writing there appear to be no reported cases of swine flu in Asia and with these preventative measures in place we can only hope that continues to be the case.

Naturally anyone travelling anywhere at the moment is going to be concerned, however, unless the Foreign & Commonwealth Office advises against travel to a destination in Asia, a disinclination to travel will not qualify for an insurance claim.

No one can give us comfort at the moment because there are too many unknowns surrounding this latest strain of influenza. All any of us can do, in the event of feeling unwell after travelling, is to report (by phone) to our GP. As an aside it is always a good idea to do this if feeling flu-like symptoms after returning from Asia because malaria can start in this way (unlikely but it can happen).