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 Health & Beauty | September 2007 
NM, Mexico Agree to Share Flu Information
 Diana M. Alba - Silver City Sun-News
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 |  | Should there be any type of pandemic flu outbreak — if started south and moved north — we'd have access to that information. The time frame for being able to find out is much quicker.
- Chris Minnick |  | |
New Mexico - The state would have more warning in the event of a severe flu outbreak just south of its border, thanks to an agreement signed Friday between officials from New Mexico and Chihuahua. The pilot project calls for health officials in both states to share reports on a weekly basis about flu activity within their borders through spring of 2008.
The arrangement stemmed from planning efforts to combat pandemic flu, a widespread outbreak of the virus, said Chris Minnick, spokesman for the regional office of the New Mexico Department of Health. Before Friday, the state had access to flu data from Texas because of a reporting protocol overseen by the federal government, but it had no formal system of communication with Mexico about virus activity.
"Should there be any type of pandemic flu outbreak — if started south and moved north — we'd have access to that information," he said. "The time frame for being able to find out is much quicker."
Minnick said even though the agreement resulted from pandemic flu planning, it will aid officials as they monitor the normal flu season this winter. Information from flu surveillance alerts doctors about the type of virus strains present in a region and can help health officials decide where to target their prevention efforts, he said.
Sunland Park Mayor Ruben Segura said he applauds the collaboration between the two states.
"I think will put it us in a proactive approach to dealing with diseases such as tuberculosis, the flu, so the health field can be prepared," he said. "As a border community, we're probably aware of the fact that as people migrate back and forth, diseases don't have any boundaries or borders."
An estimated 1 million people cross the international border, either going to or coming from Mexico, in the El Paso region each day, according to the health department.
New Mexico Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil said in a prepared statement that the recent agreement should help reduce flu-related deaths.
"As commerce and trade between Chihuahua and New Mexico increases, it's crucial that we collaborate with Mexico to prevent the spread of infectious diseases to our respective citizens," he said.
New Mexico gathers information during winter months from 54 clinics or laboratories around the state. Flu-like illnesses and lab-confirmed cases of flu from these sentinel sites are reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Under the new agreement, Chihuahuan officials will add report data from a new sentinel site in Ju rez. In addition, the state health department agreed to add two new sites from Sunland Park to its surveillance list.
Segura said he hopes the flu agreement leads to cooperation between Chihuahua and New Mexico on other issues.
"As we move forward and the region grows even further, the need to have these types of collaboratives is going to be paramount to the overall health, safety and welfare of the residents of the region, regardless of which side of the border you're on," he said.
Diana M. Alba can be reached at dalba@lcsun-news.com |
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