I found this on another board. Cacun and the Riviera Maya are not really being effected:

Cancún, Quintana Roo, April 27, 2009
QUINTANA ROO STATE SECRETARY OF TOURISM
PUBLIC RELEASE
“QUINTANA ROO KEEPS FREE FROM SWINE FLU”
Quintana Roo State Secretary of Tourism informs that the state is free from Swine Flu disease up to now, and that not a single case of the disease, or related cases have been reported at the main tourism destinations.
The detection and prevention plan implemented by Mexico´s Ministry of Health continues, by means of check points placed at airports, cruise and bus terminals, as well as permanent monitoring in the more than 77,000 hotel rooms operating in Quintana Roo.
The government agency also informs that tourism related activities develop normally in Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Riviera Maya, Cozumel and Grand Costa Maya. All destinations remain attentive to the Health Authority´s directions.
Quintana Roo State Government is supportive of other Mexican states where the Swine Flu outbreak has taken place, and will be respectful of precaution measures and recommendations implemented in foreign countries in regard to international travel.
For the State Government the highest priority now is the preservation of health among all the population, including citizens and visitors.

For me best to use prevention in in high risk situation.

Current CDC position on prevention with Tamiflu.

Pre-exposure antiviral chemoprophylaxis with either oseltamivir or zanamivir can be considered for the following:

1. Any health care worker who is at high-risk for complications of influenza (e.g., persons with certain chronic medical conditions, persons 65 or older, children younger than 5 years old, and pregnant women) who is working in an area of the healthcare facility that contains patients with confirmed swine influenza A (H1N1) cases, or who is caring for patients with any acute febrile respiratory illness.

2. Non-high risk persons who are travelers to Mexico, first responders, or border workers who are working in areas with confirmed cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection.

Tamiflu does not cost 1500. I think it was expensive when we got it for my family this winter. (only because we had my husband still fairly newly recovering from a heart attack and we were trying to contain the regular flu to one kid in the house.) But it is nowhere near even 100. I can't remember how much. I do remember commenting that it was pricey, maybe 35 or 40 per person with an insurance plan?
Jette: I thought the kids from Queens were confirmed with swine flu? I am pretty sure that is what the media was reporting the other day.
Monica: Yes. I do know that Mexico is huge. I also think that containing any kind of virus in a country like Mexico is probably almost impossible. I hope and pray this does not escalate.

I've seen several news articles raising (but not answering) the question of why the swine flu seems to be more deadly South of the Mexico/America border than it is north of the border. I think it is for the exact same reason that SARS proved so much more deadly in Canada than it did in the US: America's health care system, as expensive as it is, provides quicker response and more ready access to top-quality care. Americans are lucky that this disease struck now, before the US Congress has gotten around to nationalizing the health care system.

Remember that much of Mexico is still rural and isolated. The first death in Oaxaca was of a woman who'd traveled quite a distance to reach the public hospital in the state capital. It's probably significant that the first puzzling cases were identified in that hospital.

For a quick (personal) overview of the situation in Oaxaca, please go here:
http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...ad=1182&page=1

girlonthego,
I agree with you. Nothing I've read indicates that the Queens cases were unconfirmed. To the contrary.
Also, it is a bit premature to assume that when all is said and done, the disease has been more deadly south of the border. Doesn't the comparison depend on how many people have truly been affected down there? That info may not be reliable at this time or ever.

My husband and I decided to cancel our trip to Cancun. There was just too much talk about this flu virus that is very concerning. Luckily, we were refunded with a voucher for our airfare (eventhough it was nonrefundable)and we were lucky enough to be able to book in Maui instead for the same date travel. The hotel and airline we had reservations with for Mexico understood our concern and gave us refund (only if you were traveling to Mexico)because of this swine flu. I want to thank everyone for all their responses. It helped made our decision easier. Thank you again.

I also want to thank everyone for their comments...it was all very helpful!!! I have to say I def agree with you mah1980...your right how can I relax if I am worried about getting this virus. We have changed our plans from Cancun to Jamaica!!! We are still excited but stressed from trying to change all the plans!!! All I have to say is we will def remember our wedding ceremony...lol!!! What a story for the kids one day!!! Thanks to all!!!

So glad both of you were able to make other arrangements. Hopefully you will be able to venture forth into new territory with peace of mind. Hopefully! Who knows where this thing is going? We have travel plans in late July for Mexico City--medical mission trip in the mountains above Puebla. For the people of Mexico, and for the rest of us, we can all hope the crisis has worn itself out by that time. Even so, it will be difficult to go worry-free.

Cheap shot, bobludlow.

The People's Republic of China did not share info on their "flu epidemic" which later was called SARS. In the earliest stages, it was actually Canadian intelligence that alerted the World Health Organization of the problem, from routine electonic monitoring.

As I recall it took some time to manage screening protocols, EVERYWHERE. As a front line medical professional , I can tell you that we have been preparing, in Canada, for a flu pandemic for years while Sars came as a surprise.

Here's what Vincent Lam said in an interview a while back. Dr. Lam is the Giller Prize winner for his novel, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures. He is also an emergency room physicain who treated SARS patients in Toronto.



Q: How would a flu pandemic stack up against SARS?

A: SARS was a logistical nightmare, and threw us for a loop as asystem. But it actually affected relatively few people in terms ofthe final number of illnesses and deaths. An influenza pandemic would affect a much larger percentage of the population. One of the big differences is that with influenza, in the day before a person has any symptoms at all, they may already be highly infectious. With SARS, people were shedding the most virus and were most infectious about 10 days into the illness, when theywere already quite ill. That's one reason it could be more easily contained, you could see that they were sick. There are somethings which people expect in a pandemic, and in a scary way,almost fantasize about, like enforced quarantines and signs nailed on the front door telling people not to go in or out. The reality is that we probably won't see those, because the success rate of en forced, individually directed quarantine and isolation in the past pandemics simply has not been borne out -- influenza is too infectious, and people shed virus before they know they're sick. Once an influenza strain hits the general community, it's almost impossible to completely stop its progress. What will likely be possible is to slow down and limit its progression by asking people to stay home, voluntarily.

Q: How do you shed the virus, exactly?

A: It comes from your mucous membranes, typically: your nose, ormouth or perhaps from rubbing your eyes. A person coughs or sneezes, and a virus-containing droplet flies out and lands on another person, or an object like a table or an elevator button.It only travels about a metre, but the droplet, depending on temperature and humidity, could survive a maximum of about 48 hours. A lot of people can touch an elevator button in the meantime, but the thing to understand is that you don't get influenza from touching the button -- you get it from touching the button, then touching one of your mucous membranes, scratching your nose or rubbing your eyes. This is why handwashing is so important, you can prevent that indirect transmission.

SO..

Perhaps tht answers part of your question as to why H1N1 has been more serious in Mexico, SO FAR ...maybe not as much hygeine therefore secondary infections such as pneumonia develop.

Well stated, rivet. Your first sentence expressed the opinion of many, no doubt. Thanks for the valuable info.

Just heard on the news that Cancun is pretty much shut down at this time, hotels empty, cruise ships not going in and out.

All the Canadian charters have stopped flights to Mexico, Air Transat, Sunwing......

Just to clarify, at the time of my initial posting the Queens cases WERE unconfirmed. Things have obviously changed since then altho since there are no confirmed cases in Cancun it's unclear where they picked it up. If they flew thru Mexico City as I've heard, it was more likely contacted there than in Cancun.

Anyway as I also said, the situation should be monitored daily for anyone still thinking of travelling.

http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/view...2523&start=150

For first hand info on what's happening in Cancun, check this.

None of the hospitals in Cancun report any admissions for flu symptoms. The larger clubs are closing for a short while but it's certainly not empty or shut down.

I'm not denying things should be closely monitored but lets try and stay with the facts. Mass hysteria in the face of a possible crisis is NOT a good way to control the situation.

Our paper was reporting today that this flu is actually LESS virulent than the regular flu so far. And comparing it to the 1918 flu strain showed that it lacked an amino acid that would cause it to replicate in the lungs to the extent that the 1918 flu did, meaning it's much less likely to kill. So there is starting to be some good news. Yes, it could be a pandemic in that it's a new virus that is spreading around the world, but if it isn't worse than the current flu that we already deal with, is that so terrifying?

This is somewhat reassuring. As late as yesterday, CDC officials were still stating that the problem is that this is a new strain and they do not know what it will/could do. Hopefully that has changed and they have a handle on how it compares to other strains in virulence. Certainly there is no call for hysteria; however, until we know more I'll probably be one who will err on the side of caution and would advise my family to do the same.

Jette, your post was April 28. This article was dated April 26.

http://www.cdnn.info/news/travel/t090426.html

And yes, you are correct that we all need to get the facts straight. From what I've been able to gather by reading online, tourism is way down (compared to usual) in Cancun and the tourism industry is being very CLOSED MOUTHED about the swine flu--understandably; they have so much to lose. I'm not sure silence is the best approach as to the safety of travelers. And I don't think I'd trust updates that come out of Cancun as reliable.

The tourist industry anywhere has a tendency to sweep problems (health scares, crime, natural disasters, political unrest) under the rug. I feel for anyone who works in tourism in Mexico, but I agree with you, motmot: resports generated by the tourist industry in Cancun naturally will have a bias.

If anyone wants to see pics taken today from PDC from both the beach and in town/restaurants they are posted on the www.playa.info site in the general forum under the heading swine flu.