Dr. John Mauser Checks In From Mexico City On The Swine Flu

Guanabee: Hi Dr. Mauser, thanks for taking time to talk to us about the swine flu. Before we get started, did you feel the earthquake over there this morning?

Dr. Mauser: No. I am near the mountains and you don’t generally feel anything near the mountains unless it’s a 7.0 or higher and, at that point, the city is being destroyed.

Guanabee: Yes, well, fortunately this wasn’t one of those days. So, Dr. Mauser, how long have you lived in Mexico city and how long have you been a doctor there?

Dr. Mauser: I was born and raised here and I’ve been a doctor for 30 years.

Guanabee: So, tell us. How do you think the swine flu got started?

Dr. Mauser: In a small town in Veracruz called Perote, they breed pigs and it seems the pigs got a swine influenza.

Guanabee: Yes, we saw that.

Dr. Mauser: From that, 400 people were infected–the whole town. It surged by the end of March and Veratect, a company that does bio-surveillance, notified the World Health Organization around April 2nd, but no one paid attention until it spread to Mexico City.

Guanabee: Isn’t that always the way.

Dr. Mauser: Then a lot of people went back to the States after Easter. That’s when you started to see the infections appearing in the U.S. New York, Texas, California. We haven’t heard anything from Chicago yet, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Guanabee: Why do you think Mexico is being hit so much harder than the rest of the world?

Dr. Mauser: A few things. Over-population is a big factor. There are 20 million people traveling in and out of the Mexico City metropolitan area each day.

Guanabee: Wow, there are about 8 million in New York City.

Dr Mauser: On top of that, the flu is something that is virtually unheard of in this part of the world. Ordinarily, the flu is something you see in the northern United States and Canada because of the colder weather. Not only is the flu uncommon here, but it’s also out of season. Then, people confuse the flu with a common cold and by the time they start to feel really bad and seek medical attention, it’s too late. All of these things combined to take people by surprise.

Guanabee: We’ll say.

Dr. Mauser: Also, a lot of people outside the city don’t have adequate drinking water, so they do what they can.

Guanabee: So what is the city like these days?

Dr. Mauser: Well, they closed everything. They banned football games. Movie theaters were closed. And schools are closed, but not offices.

Guanabee: Why are kids being kept home, but not adults?

Dr. Mauser: Well, we can’t stop the economy.

Guanabee: Yes, that’s the unreported victim in all of this. Have you ever seen anything like this in your life?

Dr. Mauser: In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s there was a polio epidemic in the U.S. border states. At that time, I lived in Tijuana and studied in San Isidrio, California. A lot of my friends were crippled from polio. That’s the last epidmic I saw until now.

Guanabee: So, is this mass hysteria or are people justified in being afraid?

Dr. Mauser: In a sense. It’s a sickness that could kill you if you don’t take the proper measures. But what people fear most is that this will become something much more serious or there are theories that the situation is much worse than the governmentt says, but i haven’t seen a huge amount of people sick.

Guanabee: Are you scared?

Dr. Mauser: No, not at all. I don’t even use a face mask.
I would love to be the owner of the company that produces those face masks and the medical labs that make the cold medicine.

Guanabee: We guess those guys are having a good day. Anything you advise?

Dr. Mauser: Avoid handshakes, kissing, sharing untensils, crowded places, sneeze into the crook of your elbow. Keep kitchen utensils very clean. And take some Emergen-C. Do you have that there?

Guanabee: Yes, we do.

Dr. Mauser: Take one of those everyday.

Guanabee: Will do. thanks, Dr. Mauser.

Dr. Mauser: Thank you.