SSJ to get jump on flu jab season
The flu season takes a respite during the spring and summer months but state health authorities are warning the public not to drop their guard against the possibility of influenza infection.
One woman was diagnosed with flu type B this week in Tlaquepaque. In a statement issued this week, the Secretaría de Salud Jalisco (SSJ) said the running total of flu cases for the 2013-2014 season stands at 766 cases, with 93 recorded fatalities. Four out of every five cases were diagnosed as the AH1N1 virus, while 73 percent of the cases were reported in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, where 85 percent of the fatalities occurred.
The SSJ said that it may bring forward its annual flu vaccine program, which usually begins in October. Seasonal influenza outbreaks can happen as early as October, although most of the time flu activity peaks in January or later.
Local kids were sent to Michoacan hellhole
The previous state administration sent 200 children to a shelter in Michoacan that is under investigation for allegations of abuse and mistreatment, a children’s rights advocate has claimed.
Police and Mexican soldiers last week raided the Gran Familia shelter in Zamora and found 450 children living in primitive conditions. All were removed from the building, which, said police, was in an “appalling” state.
News reports said some children who had previously lived at the home told authorities that they were locked up against their will, beaten and sexually abused.
The home’s founder, Rosa del Carmen Verduzco (better known locally as Mama Rosa), and eight of her staff were arrested.
According to Juan Manuel Estrada, director of the Find Foundation for Missing Children in Guadalajara, during the previous administration of Jalisco Governor Emilio Gonzalez (2006-2012), the Consejo Estatal de la Familia referred around 200 abandoned kids to the Michoacan facility because there was no other shelter in the state able to house them. Many of the children subsequently lost contact with their relatives, Estrada told Spanish-language daily Mileno.
Estrada said in 2011 his foundation lodged a complaint with the State Comptroller’s Office advising authorities that the children could be at risk. He said after getting no response, he then filed a denuncia with the State Attorney General’s Office.
Verduzco denies the allegations that abuses took place at the shelter. Over 200 of her supporters took part in a march this week that included many former residents of the shelter. Another backer is former President Vicente Fox, who tweeted his confidence in Mama Rosa this week.
Man dies as tree flattens SUV in storm
A motorist died on Wednesday afternoon when a massive tree uprooted, flattening his SUV at the corner of Avenida Vallarta and Juan Palomar, a few hundred meters from the Minerva traffic circle.
At least 40 trees fell and dozens of streets became flooded as a flash storm ripped though the Guadalajara metro area. The falling tree that caused the death of 38-year-old businessman Rigoberto Ascencio was around 15 meters tall and weighed five tons, according to the estimates of Civil Protection officers. He died instantly, police said.
Guadalajara Ecology chief Juan Carlos Vasquez denied that his office had received reports that the tree should have been felled as it represented a danger to the public. He told reporters that the tree was “healthy” and “without any plague.”
New flights
To launch its new seasonal Guadalajara-Puerto Vallarta route, discount airline Interjet will offer a one-way fare of 999 pesos for tickets purchased before July 27 and used between July 17 and August 3. The new daily flight, which will operate only during the summer season, according to Interjet director general Jose Luis Garza, begins on July 17. As an incentive to buy tickets, passengers will be able to document up to 50 kilograms of luggage and transport their pets for free.
Dogs rescued
Tlaquepaque city authorities rescued 20 dogs living in intolerable conditions at a property in the Lindavista neighborhood of the metro-area suburb. Many of the animals were housed in cages designed for canaries and small birds. Others were found sleeping in cardboard boxes. Some of the dogs appeared to have difficulty walking, officials said. The sole resident of the house, an ailing single woman in her eighties, was taken to a Green Cross clinic for revision.