Swine Flu or H1N1

Panic struck health departments mobilise to avoid a pandemic of swine flu or as the pig industry prefers to re-label it , H1N1. What noticibly has been been forgotten are the victims in Mexico , the suspected origin of the flu . Very little discussion on why they have been particularly struck down .
The Washington Post runs this story to make amends .

What is clear about the outbreak is that the epicenter is Mexico City, a megalopolis of more than 20 million people where about a third of the population lives in poverty. As of April 30, when there were 397 confirmed swine flu cases, 285 of those people lived in Mexico City, according to the most recent available statistics from the Health Ministry. Of the 26 people it said had died of the virus, 20 lived in the capital.

Among the largest concentrations of swine flu cases is in Iztapalapa, with nearly 2 million people the densest, most populous of Mexico City's 16 districts, and also one of the poorest, said Miguel Ángel Lezana, the government's top epidemiologist. "It's an area with a huge demographic concentration. Since this is a disease that is transmitted and spread by personal contact, when you have this huge accumulation of people in a rather small area, you have a greater opportunity to spread the disease," Lezana said. "Besides, these are the people with not actual lack of access, but difficulty getting access to medical facilities, so they get there late to the doctor or the ERs in case they need it."
The reasons behind this delay have little to do with apathy, according to Mexican patients and doctors. "Delaying medical care is a characteristic of poverty. For people living close to the edge, taking off a day to visit a doctor or staying home sick is literally taking food out of their mouths," said Paul J. Gertler, a professor of economics at the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley.

The free public hospital Iztapalapa General Hospital, often requires patients to wait for hours with no guarantee that medicines will be in stock. A course of antiviral medication used to treat swine flu costs more than $100, pharmacists said, a price out of reach for many patients.

Mexico has three parallel health-care systems. Workers who are employed by the government or private companies are part of the national social security system, as are their families. When they go to a hospital or doctor, the care is mostly free. The uninsured, about 50 percent of the population, include the unemployed and those who work in the informal economy. They also have access to health care, at public clinics and hospitals run by the Health Ministry. They are required to pay for services, but the amount is based on their income. It is often just a few dollars for a doctor's visit. A small fraction of people, about 3 percent, visit private hospitals using insurance or, if they are wealthy enough, by paying in cash.

Once again the poor are the forgotten victims and only when the threat crosses over to endager the wealthy is action taken .

We read here
"However, deaths from diarrhea and enteritis, pneumonia, and influenza occur more often than one would expect given Mexico's overall mortality levels. The authors estimate that 43% of the deaths (and 60% of infant deaths) in Mexico are preventable with acceptable living conditions and access to medical services [this study talks about all mortality, not specifically influenza]. Deaths from severe respiratory infections and pneumonia, enteritis and diarrhea could be reduced by 75%. Most deaths due to aritaminosis, anemias, tuberculosis, and bronchitis could be prevented. Although mortality has improved significantly in Mexico, it still remains high and will continue to remain so until profound transformations occur in its economic structure. "