WASHINGTON - THE US government, its own ranks now touched by swine flu, went into damage control Thursday after Vice-President Joe Biden stoked public alarm by warning against travel on planes and subways.
A quarter of US states reported infections of the potentially fatal H1N1 virus, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there were ample supplies of medication on hand.
A Department of Energy staffer who was in the US delegation when President Barack Obama visited Mexico two weeks ago was believed to have caught swine flu and likely gave it to his family, but they were all well, officials said.
Mr Obama himself 'has not experienced any symptoms and the doctors see no need to conduct any tests,' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
An employee of the Washington-based World Bank was also suspected to have had swine flu, as health officials confirmed 118 infections across 15 states and many schools nationwide were shut down.
After Mr Obama had said the disease was 'a cause for deep concern, but not panic,' Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano refuted the warning over public transport given by the gaffe-prone Biden. 'It is safe. The one caveat is that if you are sick ... don't contaminate others by getting into a plane, a bus, a train, a confined space,' she said.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said: 'All modes of transportation are safe in America. It is safe to fly. There is no reason to cancel flights.' Gibbs echoed a clarification issued by Biden's office, that the vice president had meant to stress a specific warning against non-essential travel to Mexico.
'I'm apologising to those who were unduly alarmed,' Mr Obama's spokesman told reporters.
On NBC's 'Today' show, Mr Biden was asked whether he would advise his family members against flying to Mexico, the outbreak's epicentre. 'I would tell members of my family - and I have - I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now,' he said.
'It's not that it's going to Mexico - it's that you're in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft,' Mr Biden said. He added: 'I would not be at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway.' -- AFP
A quarter of US states reported infections of the potentially fatal H1N1 virus, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there were ample supplies of medication on hand.
A Department of Energy staffer who was in the US delegation when President Barack Obama visited Mexico two weeks ago was believed to have caught swine flu and likely gave it to his family, but they were all well, officials said.
Mr Obama himself 'has not experienced any symptoms and the doctors see no need to conduct any tests,' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
An employee of the Washington-based World Bank was also suspected to have had swine flu, as health officials confirmed 118 infections across 15 states and many schools nationwide were shut down.
After Mr Obama had said the disease was 'a cause for deep concern, but not panic,' Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano refuted the warning over public transport given by the gaffe-prone Biden. 'It is safe. The one caveat is that if you are sick ... don't contaminate others by getting into a plane, a bus, a train, a confined space,' she said.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said: 'All modes of transportation are safe in America. It is safe to fly. There is no reason to cancel flights.' Gibbs echoed a clarification issued by Biden's office, that the vice president had meant to stress a specific warning against non-essential travel to Mexico.
'I'm apologising to those who were unduly alarmed,' Mr Obama's spokesman told reporters.
On NBC's 'Today' show, Mr Biden was asked whether he would advise his family members against flying to Mexico, the outbreak's epicentre. 'I would tell members of my family - and I have - I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now,' he said.
'It's not that it's going to Mexico - it's that you're in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft,' Mr Biden said. He added: 'I would not be at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway.' -- AFP
