Cabo Chronicles

Map of Swine Flu as of April 28th, 2009

Here in Los Cabos, we have managed to stay safe from Swine Flu. This means Los Cabos is safer than California, Texas, Kansas, New York, and other states who have reported confirmed cases of Swine Flu.

In Los Cabos, the sun is still shining, the Sea of Cortez is heating up after a mild winter, and the margaritas keep pouring. We assembled this list of facts to help you ease your mind and enjoy your trip safely and securely.

Facts

FACT: As of today (April 28, 2009), there have only been 26 laboratory confirmed cases of swine flu in the entire country of Mexico. And there have been 64 laboratory confirmed cases in the U.S.!

FACT: A total of 0 of those cases occurred in Los Cabos. A total of 0 of those cases occurred in the entire state of Baja Sur (where Los Cabos is located).

FACT: Although the media is reporting that "152 people have died" in Mexico, these deaths have not been confirmed cases of Swine Flu.

FACT: US President Barack Obama today began a speech imploring Americans not to be alarmed and reminding the globe that both the U.S. and Mexico have sophisticated and well-coordinated systems in place to control and mediate the spread of any disease.

FACT: What the media ISN'T telling you is that 36,000 Americans die each year from the ordinary, regular and common seasonal flu. So although we are right to be alarmed by any contagious disease, particularly one like this which appears to be transmitted from human-to-human, so far, even the World Health Organization (WHO) has NOT recommended a travel alert, stating "WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders."
View this publishing on WHO's website at: www.who.int/csr/don/2009_04_27/en/index.html.

FACT: Swine flu is a type of influenza, or flu, that originated in pigs. This strain has been transmitted to humans and from human-to-human. That's why the media jumped on it; the occurrence of a flu of this type is out of the ordinary.

FACT: This swine flu is very similar to ordinary seasonal flu in that it appears to respond to antiviral treatment and transmission can be prevented with a few simple steps. In other words, wash your hands (in hot water) or use alcohol-based hand cleaners on a regular basis (70% alcohol strength), cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing and discard the tissue, and wipe down surfaces that may have been touched by anyone carrying germs with an alcohol-based cleaner, too. These are ordinary safety precautions, effective even to prevent the common cold!

FACT: Swine Flu is safer than your car! Keeping all of this perspective, in the U.S. alone, there are well over 100 deaths every single day caused by automobile related accidents. With Swine Flu, the odds are far less and chances for recovery are far greater. If you are thinking about not traveling due to Swine Flu, then you should probably refrain from driving too!

Click on image to view map.

Now, that isn't to say that Los Cabos is immune from the disease. We are only pointing out the facts. As of today, April 28th, 2009, there are NO REPORTED CASES of Swine Flu here in Los Cabos, or in the entire state on Baja California Sur, Mexico, the peninsula state where Los Cabos is located.

Many people do not fully comprehend the geographical location and isolation of Los Cabos. Did you know that the closest reports of "possible" Swine Flu are 1,000+ miles by car from Los Cabos? Depending where you may live in the United States (or elsewhere) in the world, geographically speaking, you may be far SAFER in Los Cabos. In fact, Los Cabos is so isolated from Mexico's mainland, that news travels quite slow to us here! But we've caught wind of the hype, and we want to assure regular Cabo visitors and even our Cabo neighbors that this swine flu thing may not be as widespread as the U.S. and world media are portraying it right now. For example, the media says things like "Mexico" when referring to a city or state no matter where it is in Mexico. When the "world media gods" report cases in San Diego or LA, why don't they simply say "United States," as they do when reporting on isolated cities in Mexico? We are unsure why the world media's standards and ethics allow for such lax labeling of Mexico, yet standards remain strict and detailed in reports about the U.S.. Frankly, this irresponsible misreporting of Cabo is quite frustrating for us here at Hautter.com, which is why we wrote this blog.

For more information, follow our updates on Twitter (www.twitter.com/hautter), read the Center for Disease Control's tips on preventing flu transmission at www.cdc.gov/germstopper, or visit the World Health organization website at www.who.int.

APRIL 30th UPDATE

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the alert level, they are still sticking by their original recommendations-- "WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders." (See View this publishing on WHO's website at: www.who.int/csr/don/2009_04_30_a/en/index.html

Meanwhile, although the number of confirmed cases has risen slightly, the number is still higher in the US (with 109 confirmed cases) and Mexico government officials say that cases are "leveling off" in the capital city and surrounding areas. The Center for Disease Control and other U.S. arms of government continue to recommend normal precautions: washing hands often and covering your mouth when you sneeze. And, as has been the case since last week, there are still ZERO CASES OF SWINE FLU IN ALL OF LOS CABOS AND NO CASES IN BAJA SUR, MEXICO, the state in which Los Cabos is located. Currently, Los Cabos and the entire state of Baja California Sur is safer than many U.S. cities and states.