More than 300 people were placed in quarantine at a hotel in Hong Kong where a Mexican with swine flu had briefly stayed. The maximum alert level was applied without delay by the authorities who did not want to take any risks. Interviews: Olivier Dolige (French businessman confined) // Dr York Chow (Secretary of Health in Hong Kong) // Lai Ming-Hung (President of the Hong Kong Taxi Union).
Offensive against chicken flu (H5N1 virus) in Hong Kong: to avoid any contagion, the authorities have decided to use the... Interview: Chau Loi (head of the Hong Kong Ministry of Health) / Jean-Claude Manuguerra (director of the Institut Pasteur National Influenza Centre).
The possible transmission of avian influenza to humans: a nightmare for virologists who observe the phenomenon with a magnifying glass, very common in Asia... Interview: Dr Christophe Paquet (Head of the International and Tropical Department - Health Watch Institute).
Around the world, there are fears of a new swine flu virus spreading... Several countries are on alert: in the United States, Europe and Japan, the authorities have taken the measure of the threat and have begun to implement certain preventive measures (in Japan in particular, installation of thermal cameras at airports and wearing masks). Interventions: Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin (Minister of Health and Sport): "France is one of the best prepared countries ... there is obviously an epidemic but not a pandemic ... We must call for vigilance but there is no reason to be alarmed for the moment"// Press conference in Washington by Dr. Richard Besser (Director, Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) on swine flu cases in the United States // Trinidad Jimenez (Spanish Minister of Health): "We are not in an emergency situation in our country; but we work to anticipate and activate prevention in the event of an evolution".
All eyes are on Japan, with the new influenza virus galloping. Radical measures have been taken across the country to stop the epidemic: compulsory masking and systematic hand disinfection. And in the Osaka region, the epicentre of the virus, all schools are closed for a week. Interventions: Toru Hashimoto (Governor of Osaka) // Margaret Chan (Director-General of the WHO): "We are all forced to take urgent and far-reaching measures in an atmosphere of great scientific uncertainty".
A thousand people have been quarantined in Hong Kong. An office tower where a majority of these people work has been thoroughly disinfected. A French expat, Pascal Chaumont, testifies on the hygiene measures (wearing the mask, disinfection) practiced and respected by the whole population to prevent the spread of the epidemic of atypical pneumonia or SARS.
Reportage sur l'épidémie de grippe qui sévit au Japon, notamment sur les mesures sanitaires mises en oeuvre pour limiter la propagation de la grippe asiatique.
The INA Galaxy 
