WHO: Flu pandemic is imminent

Swine flu has created a glut of available airplane seats for travel to Mexico because travel there is discouraged, travel agent Luci Larson said, and it's created a crunch for flights to other destinations.

"People were calling me Sunday night. The phones have not quit ringing," Larson said Wednesday. She is co-owner of Action Travel, 116 S. Seventh.

The agency has been swamped with calls from travelers seeking to change vacation plans in the midst of the swine flu scare that has killed up to 159 people in Mexico. Through Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta has confirmed 91 cases of swine flu in the United States. One death of a toddler in Texas has been attributed to the outbreak. Only two in Kansas -- a couple in Dickinson County -- are listed as having the virus.

The World Health Organization on Wednesday raised the pandemic threat level from four to five, on a scale of six, according to the organization's Web site.

"We have a lot of people going to Mexico," Larson said. "One is going Saturday, and Monday I was scrambling to redo her vacation. She wanted me to find her another place to go. It took me two days to fix that one."

Seat availability for flights to other places is dwindling, Larson said, as people quickly change their plans, taking the advice of health officials in an effort to curb the spread of the swine flu virus.

"The CDC is recommending that people avoid nonessential travel to Mexico," said Del Myers, health educator with the Saline-Saline County Health Department.

Among Larson's customers are a couple from another town planning to get married in Mexico, and 10 of their family and friends are going along.

"I'm dealing with a June wedding, and it's all prepaid," she said. "I helped her get hooked up with a wedding planner in Mexico. They've told her it's nonrefundable."

Two other couples are planning honeymoons to Mexico, Larson said, and another party plans a vacation. The majority of plans are for June and July. Another is for September.

"I am concerned about the ones going in June and July. This may take that long for things to get under control and get back into a safe period to travel," said Larson, who also serves as Salina's mayor.

The travel advisory from health officials is a recommendation.

"They have not said you are prohibited," she said.

The airlines are allowing customers to cancel their flights and are waiving penalties, which normally can run up to $200, Larson said. Travelers are given a credit for their tickets and a year to use it, she said, but there's a catch.

"The airlines are only letting you do this if you're going in a week to two weeks. Those going in June don't fall into that stipulation," Larson said. "If you have hotel reservations, in a packaged vacation, you're not getting penalized, but you have to reschedule. Cruises are not in the same category. They're just going to revise their itinerary and not stop in those Mexican ports."

In most cases trip insurance won't help, she said. Insurance allows cancellation for medical reasons, such as the death of an immediate family member. "But just to call the company and say, 'I want to cancel because of this pandemic,' 99 percent won't cover it," Larson said. "Are you going to lose thousands of dollars or take your chances and go on vacation?"

Larson said she told a family member of the couple planning to marry to recover what money they could, get married at home and "take a postcelebration trip later. They're not staying home. They're going."

Asked her opinion about the couple planning to wed, Myers said, "I couldn't begin to give them any advice."

Every year, 36,000 people die of seasonal influenza, she said, usually from complications when the flu worsens to pneumonia.

What makes swine flu so dangerous is that it's a new strain and everyone is susceptible, Myers said.

Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms -- fever greater than 100 degrees, body aches, coughing, sore throat, respiratory congestion and, in some cases, diarrhea and vomiting -- should seek medical attention.

There is a 15-minute test to determine if you have the "regular flu," Myers said.

A physician may also choose to request that a sample be sent to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for further testing. If a specific set of criteria common to swine flu is met, Myers said, the sample may be sent to the CDC in Atlanta. The turnaround time can be as swift as 24 hours, depending on travel time, she said.

The incubation period for the swine flu virus, originally deemed to be three to seven days, actually is one to seven days, she said.

Once someone is confirmed to have swine flu, officials recommend isolation, but it isn't mandatory, Myers said. There are certain infectious diseases where isolation can be required by court order, such as active tuberculosis, she said.

If any swine flu cases are diagnosed in Saline County, she doesn't anticipate having any problems.

"I think most people are going to self-isolate," Myers said, "just because they don't want to make anyone else sick."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.