WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Monday that the threat of spreading swine flu infections is a cause for concern but “not a cause for alarm” while customs agents began checking for illness in people traveling to the United States by land and air.
The U.S. has declared a national health emergency in the midst of uncertainty about whether the mounting sick count — with 1,600 cases or more in Mexico and at least 149 deaths — was from ongoing infections or merely resulted from health officials missing something that had been simmering for weeks or months.
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There were 40 confirmed cases in the United States, according to the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was twice the number American officials confirmed earlier Monday. None of the U.S. cases has been fatal.
Authorities were not recommending that people in the U.S. put on masks in the workplace to protect against swine flu infection.
There is no vaccine available to prevent the new swine flu, officials said. However, there are antiflu drugs that do work once someone is sick.
Obama said the declaration of an emergency was a precautionary tool to make sure the U.S. was prepared to respond quickly.
“We are closely monitoring the emerging cases of swine flu in the United States,” Obama told a gathering of scientists. “I’m getting regular updates on the situation from the responsible agencies, and the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Centers for Disease Control will be offering regular updates to the American people so that they know what steps are being taken and what steps they may need to take.”
“This is obviously a cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert, but it’s not a cause for alarm,” he said.
The acting head of the CDC, Dr. Richard Besser, said that Americans should be prepared for the problem to become more severe, and that it could involve “possibly deaths.”
The European Union advised against nonessential travel to the U.S. and Mexico, while China, Taiwan and Russia considered quarantines and several Asian countries scrutinized visitors arriving at their airports. Besser said he did not believe that the EU’s inclusion of the U.S. in its travel warnings was warranted “at this point.”
Customs officials began checking people entering U.S. territory. Officers at airports, seaports and border crossings were watching for signs of illness, said Customs and Border Protection spokesman Lloyd Easterling.
Officials along the U.S.-Mexico border asked health care providers to take respiratory samples from patients who appear to have the flu. Travelers were being asked if they visited flu-stricken areas.
The borders are open,” Easterling added. He said officials were “just taking a second look at folks who may be displaying a symptom of illness.”
If a traveler says something about not feeling well, the person will be questioned about symptoms and, if necessary, referred to a health official for additional screening, Easterling said. The customs officials were wearing personal protective gear, such as gloves and masks, he said.
Health officials can send someone to the hospital if they suspect a case, but no one is being refused into the United States.
Multiple airlines said they were waiving usual penalties for changing reservations for anyone traveling to, from, or through Mexico, but had not canceled flights.
In San Diego, signs posted at border crossings, airports and other transportation hubs advised people to “cover your cough.”
A private school in South Carolina was closed Monday because of fears that young people returning from Mexico might have been infected. An official said New York City has 20 more confirmed cases of swine flu, raising the city’s total to 28.
And 14 schools in Texas, including a high school where two cases were confirmed, will be closed for at least the next week. Some schools in California and Ohio also were closing after students were found or suspected to have the flu.