Puerto Vallarta Swine Flu Update

As of yesterday evening, it seems that the Swine Flu roller coaster we have all been riding has finally come to an end in Puerto Vallarta. Yesterday evening the Governor of the State of Jalisco announced that businesses could reopen on Wednesday the 13th May.

The international media and tabloid press have had a field-day with the swine flu and even with very sketchy statistics the news panic has spread like wild-fire. Clearly, this has and will continue to have a negative economical impact on tourism in Mexico.

A couple of weeks ago when this was the world’s #1 topic you will have heard that many businesses in Mexico, including Puerto Vallarta, had been ordered shut until Wednesday the 6th of May. This included indoor restaurants, cinemas, bars and nightclubs. On the 6th of May when it was widely established that the scare was perhaps exaggerated Mexico got back to work. Then, what you perhaps didn’t hear is that on Friday the 8th May the State of Jalisco decided to re-close these businesses until the 18th of May due to some confirmed cases in Guadalajara (the state’s capital) . This decision was criticized by many in Puerto Vallarta and since today, as mentioned above, things have returned to “normal”.

So, where does this leave us? Firstly,  to answer the burning question “is there Swine Flue in Puerto Vallarta” let’s look at the official stats.

Are there any confirmed cases of Swine Flu in the state of Jalisco ?

Yes, there are currently 36 confirmed cases of Swine Flu in the state of Jalisco. These are mainly located around the Guadalajara area (about 5 hours from Puerto Vallarta) and are in steady decline.

Taken from the official information webpage on Swine Flu for Jalisco : http://informacioninfluenza.jalisco.gob.mx/

Are there any confirmed deaths from Swine Flu deaths in the state of Jalisco ?

No, there are currently 3 cases that have been classified as “suspicious”, but there are currently no confirmed deaths from Swine Flu in our state.

Taken from the official information webpage on Swine Flu for Jalisco : http://informacioninfluenza.jalisco.gob.mx/

Are there any confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Puerto Vallarta ?

No. There are currently NO confirmed cases of the A/H1N1 “Swine Flu” in Puerto Vallarta as shown by this map (Puerto Vallarta is where the circle is located). The cases are shown by the yellow and red shading, far from Puerto Vallarta.

Taken from the official information webpage on Swine Flu for Jalisco : http://informacioninfluenza.jalisco.gob.mx/

What about Nayarit?

Nayarit is our northern boardering state. Places like Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerias, Punta Mita and Sayulita are popular destinations for visitors to the Puerto Vallarta area and are all located in the state of Nayarit. Today, there are currently only 9 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 in Nayarit, and non of those infected are in a life-threatening condition. Taken from the official information webpage on Swine Flu for Nayarit: http://www.nayarit.gob.mx/notes.asp?id=16617)

Putting things into perspective

We’ve all heard the statistics relating to “common flu vs swine flu” but I think it’s important to mention them once again. Taken directly from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flu

…approximately 36,000 deaths and more than 200,000 hospitalizations are directly associated with influenza every year in the United States.

So, ignoring flu seasonalization, that means that every month in the United States of America about 3,000 people die from existing types of flu. The Swine Flu has been with us for about that same period of time (1 month) and there are currently 58 confirmed deaths in Mexico and 3 in the United States of America.

Should I stay or should I go ?

I don’t pretend to be an expert in this matter and I have no medical background. I am purely stating the facts and writing about my experience living here, today, in Puerto Vallarta.

Before traveling or moving to a foreign country it is the responsibility of each and everyone of us to inform ourselves of the risks and dangers  associated with the destination, and I would advise anyone considering traveling to Puerto Vallarta to check all these facts for themselves. I simply ask you not to let CNN or FOX News make the decision for you.

I personally would recommend my friends and family to come to Puerto Vallarta.

What now ?

It is now time for all of us to try to repair the damage that has been made to our local economy and I urge those traveling to Mexico to not enter into the panic. Please feel free to circulate this to your friends and family and spread the word.

Today in Puerto Vallarta there is virtually no one wearing face-masks in the streets. There are no confirmed cases of the swine flue. There is no panic. All business are open. The sun is hot. The beer is cold. Everyone is as happy and friendly as always.

Resources

Jalisco State Information Page : http://informacioninfluenza.jalisco.gob.mx/

Nayarit State Information Page : http://www.nayarit.gob.mx/

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) : http://www.cdc.gov/

World Health Organization (WHO) : http://www.who.int/

Puerto Vallarta Scene (local info page in English) : http://www.pvscene.com/?p=4081

You Tube Video showing Puerto Vallarta during the Swine Flue outbreak : http://tinyurl.com/q3fwqa