MEXICO CITY – Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinosa, mayor of Mexico City, said that in the city there is enough Tamiflu to meet the influenza outbreak as currently registered.
Meanwhile, the capital’s health secretary Armando Ahued Ortega urged citizens to remain calm, because there is no reason to declare an epidemic alert.
Interviewed separately, after the PRD bloc in the Senate recognized the program, El Médico en Tu Casa, Mancera announced that any citizen who has a prescription for Tamiflu will have it fulfilled by the city government.
“Concerning the supply of medication, we have supply of the medication. We have even launched a call to citizens: to those who have a prescription for this type of medication, we will give it gladly,” Mancera said.
Meanwhile, Armando Ahued, unveiled the latest statistics. He said that compared with 2013-2014, in which 850,000 cases of influenza and 106 deaths were recorded, in the period from 2015 to 2016, the recorded cases totaled 750,000, down 11 percent and with only four deaths.
He said that out of 10 cases of acute respiratory infections, seven are not influenza, so he recommended that people do not self-medicate, not self-prescribe and buy Tamiflu, because its consumption has side effects, including liver damage.
The Health Secretary insisted that the capital will not panic, because there is no influenza epidemic in the capital.
“I urge you to have calm, there is not an situation to be alarmed or epidemiological alert … I urge that children, pregnant women and older adults experiencing signs or symptoms to immediately go to health centers,” said Ahued.
Ahued Ortega, said that the supply of Tamiflu is guaranteed in Mexico City.
“We have more than two thousand doses and if necessary will ask for more; there are more than 40,000 doses the Health Secretariat and the federal government has so the supply is guaranteed … This is not to minimize the issue, but also as in 2009 dared to close the Mexico City because it was necessary and indispensable. Today we are in a different scenario, the virus is known, there is a vaccine and the Oseltamivivir continues to be effective,” said Ahued.
He reiterated that in Mexico City, three types of influenza viruses circulate: AH3N2, AH1N1 and Type B.
He reiterated his call for the capital citizens that if they have a persisting fever of higher than 38 degrees, severe headache, eye pain, body aches, malaise and desire to lie down all day, to go immediately to the health centers of the local government, to receive proper medical care.
