Gov't to tighten quarantine inspections to guard against swine flu

SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will tighten quarantine inspections of all travelers coming from the United States to guard against the spread of the deadly swine flu, local health authorities said Sunday.

The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), which issued
emergency alerts Saturday, said all passengers getting off planes from U.S.
cities like Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta will be checked for fever and
respiratory problems.
It said those showing symptoms similar to swine flu will be checked with on-site
detection kits, and those who test positive will be quarantined for observation
and medical treatment. As an added precaution, people who visited the U.S. in the
past week are being advised to get checkups if they feel ill.
The measures are being taken because of the considerable travel between South
Korea and the U.S., which has a large ethnic Korean population. No cases of swine
flu have been reported in the country.
In the past year, there were 2,665 direct and indirect flights between the three
U.S. cities and South Korea. The total number of passengers reached 426,381, with
numbers going up sharply if the tally includes all passengers from the U.S. and
Mexico.
Seoul moved to tighten monitoring and quarantine rules after people living in the
U.S. and Mexico started contracting swine flu, and the World Health Organization
(WHO) warned countries around the world to be vigilant for any signs of
outbreaks. According to WHO, the swine flu, which can be mistaken for the common
flu, has "pandemic potential" because it is an animal virus strain that can
infect humans.
Suspected flu cases have been reported in several cities in the U.S., with many
taking place in the southern and western parts of the country. Mexican
authorities speculate that up to 81 people may have died from the respiratory
illness, which regularly occurs among pigs, but generally does not infect humans.
The disease can pose serious health problems since there have been documented
cases of the virus spreading among humans, with medical experts saying the latest
strain seems to have a fatality rate exceeding 5 percent.
"A source of concern is that people may mistake swine flu for the common type of
influenza going around, so people who were in the U.S. and Mexico and are
suffering from symptoms like fever, coughing, sore throat and diarrhea need to go
to clinics and hospitals immediately," a KCDC official said.
He said attention to personal hygiene could help prevent the disease, while those
traveling abroad should try to avoid close personal contact with other people.
The health agency, however, said that there is no need to be overly concerned
because the disease responds to existing anti-flu drugs, including Tamiflu and
Relenza, if taken early. The country has maintained a stock of such drugs to
treat about 2.4 million people since the country was hit by Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome outbreaks. In addition, the illness cannot be transmitted by
properly cooked meat.
Related to the outbreak, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it is
mulling an option to raise the level of travel warnings to several regions, like
Mexico City and San Luis Potosi, where deaths have been reported.
"According to local diplomatic missions, several South Korean nationals living in
Mexico and those traveling in the country complained of symptoms, but none have
become seriously ill," an official said. He said once a decision is made about
what type of warning will be made, all travelers will be notified.
Meanwhile, the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service said Saturday
that it will tighten quarantine measures for pork from both the U.S. and Mexico.
The service under the farm ministry said U.S. and Mexican pork to be imported
from Monday will be put in quarantine and checked for swine virus infections.
In the first three months of this year to March, South Korea imported 28,726 tons
of pork from the U.S. and 208 tons of pork from Mexico.