For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute today joined her Mexican and Canadian counterparts in Mexico City to discuss continued collaboration to confront the spread of global H1N1 flu and further develop cooperative efforts to inform and educate the public in preparation for the fall H1N1 season.
"The shared responsibility to respond to the H1N1 pandemic requires close coordination with our Mexican and Canadian allies," said Deputy Secretary Lute. "Our productive meetings today built on our ongoing collaborative efforts to prevent and respond to the spread of H1N1 within our nations and across our shared borders."
Today’s trilateral meetings focused on coordinating efforts on a broad array of H1N1 issues—including continued collaboration on strategies to mitigate and respond to the spread of the H1N1 flu within each country and within the continent; emergency information sharing and communication; border issues pertaining to inspections and customs issues.
Deputy Secretary Lute was joined by DHS Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Alexander Garza and Department of Health and Human Services Principal Deputy to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dr. Gerald Parker in leading the delegation. They were supported by representatives from the Department of State and Department of Agriculture, as well as the Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The Mexican delegation was led by Health Ministry Deputy Secretary of Prevention and Promotion of Health Mauricio Hernández and Interior Ministry Deputy Secretary of Population, Migration and Religious Affairs Alejandro Poiré Romero. The Canadian delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Health Morris Rosenberg and Associate Deputy Minister of Public Safety Myles Kirvan.
For more information on H1N1 readiness and response, visit www.flu.gov.
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