U.S. acts swiftly to contain swine flu outbreak

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States declared a public health emergency on Sunday because of an outbreak of swine flu that has been diagnosed in 20 people in this country -- the same strain suspected of killing 81 people in Mexico.

The outbreak is yet another distraction for President Barack Obama, who is focused on rescuing the economy from its worst crisis in decades. His administration will also be mindful of the lasting damage to former President George W. Bush over his government's inept handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"At this point, a top priority is to ensure that communication is robust and that medical surveillance efforts are fully activated," John Brennan, assistant to the president for Homeland Security, told a White House briefing.

Health and Homeland Security officials announced steps to release some of the country's stockpiles of anti-flu drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza. They recommended that local authorities plan for possible school closures and for people with flu-like symptoms to stay at home to reduce the possibility of transmission.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said it was too early to say what impact the outbreak could have on efforts to get the economy back on its feet. Spiraling health-care costs are already a huge drain on the economy.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the declaration of the public health emergency was necessary to free up federal, state and local agencies' resources and authorize the release of funds to buy more antivirals.

"This is standard operating procedure," Napolitano stressed, adding that similar declarations had been issued in the past to help states cope with flooding or to help them prepare for approaching hurricanes.

WHY NOT AS DEADLY?

The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Richard Besser, told the briefing there were 20 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States. All patients had recovered and only one person had to be hospitalized.

It appeared to be the same strain as the virus that has killed scores in Mexico, he said, although it was not yet clear why it had not proven as deadly in the United States. Health officials from the United States and Canada were now in Mexico to try to answer this "critical question," he said.

"We expect to see more cases of swine flu. As we continue to look for cases, we expect that we will find them," he said.

Besser said the closure of two schools in New York City, where there had been a cluster of swine flu cases, and in Texas had been the right way to go.

"If there are other communities where we saw cases in a school, we would be recommending they take those actions as well," he said.

Napolitano said the United States would release 25 percent of the 50 million anti-flu drugs from the strategic national stockpile. The Department of Defense has also bought 7 million courses of Tamiflu for defense personnel, she said.

Tamiflu, a pill made by Roche AG and Gilead Sciences Inc, and GlaxoSmithKline's and Biota's Relenza, an inhaled drug, can treat influenza if given quickly. They have been shown to work against this new flu strain.

Gibbs said Obama, who recently returned from a trip to Mexico, had shown no symptoms of the virus and had therefore not been tested.

(Additional reporting by Kim Dixon; editing by Chris Wilson)