Swine flu threat calls for precaution, preparation

— -- How worried should we be?

News of the spread of a novel, possibly life-threatening, swine flu strain escalated over the weekend, not only in Mexico but in the United States as well.

By Sunday evening, there were 20 confirmed cases in five states, school closings in some areas, and the drain of the government's stockpile of antivirals drugs to combat the virus.

On Monday, President Obama sounded a note of calm while addressing the swine flu situation during a speech at the Washington headquarters for the National Academy of Sciences.

The president said the appearance of the flu in a handful of countries is cause for concern but "not a cause of alarm," and he added that he is keeping up to date on the problem. The administration is "closely monitoring" cases of the swine flu — how many people have it and the level of threat. Obama also said the American people can expect to get regular and frequent updates about what Washington is doing.

The tone coming from the government was somewhat more ominous on Sunday, when the government declared a "nationwide public health emergency" to help coordinate a response.

"We have an outbreak of a new infectious disease that we are approaching very aggressively," said Richard Besser, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at a White House news conference.

Whether a mild wave of swine flu is making the rounds a little off season or the world is teetering on the verge of a deadly pandemic is unclear. Although the U.S. cases are mild, more than 80 deaths linked to the new flu have been reported in Mexico, according to the CDC.

Health officials at home offered comforting words among the scary warnings. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the Department of Health and Human Services issued the declaration of public emergency as a routine step. "It frees up men and resources" to get ready for possible problems, she said, comparing the declaration to an early hurricane watch. The government took similar action during the inauguration and for flooding in North Dakota recently.

International experts were reassuring as well.

"I believe the world is more prepared than we ever have been before for this kind of situation," said Keiji Fukuda, the World Health Organization's assistant director-general ad interim for Health Security and Environment. At a news conference Sunday, he said over the past five years, countries have worked hard to develop new tools and systems in the event of a health crisis. "We have new defenses, better surveillance, stockpiles of antiviral drugs," Fukuda said.