The Mexican Health Ministry says the A/H1N1 flu is not likely to cause more than 100 deaths in the country. So far, the virus has killed 64 people and sickened 2,656 people in Mexico.
Additional fatalities could come from people already in a serious condition in hospitals. Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova says close to 30 percent of those who died in Mexico were suffering diabetes or complications from obesity.
He blames the high fatality rate on the fact that many do not seek health care in Mexico, or try to self-medicate when their symptoms are similar to those of a common seasonal flu.
He says some people may be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, who show no signs of a serious fever or respiratory problems, making those cases virtually impossible to detect.
(CCTV May 15, 2009)
