Flu exposes flaws in Mexico's health care system
MEXICO CITY – Mexicans will do almost anything to avoid a public hospital emergency room, where ailing patients may languish for hours slumped on cracked linoleum floors that smell of sweat, sickness and pine-scented disinfectant.
Many don't see doctors at all, heading instead to the clerk at the corner pharmacy for advice on coping with a cold or a flu.
So it's no surprise that when a dangerous new swine flu virus began to sweep across Mexico, many waited too long to seek medical help — more than a week on average, according to federal Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova.
These initial delays complicated treatment, possibly explaining why 48 of the world's 50 confirmed swine flu deaths occurred in Mexico.