Vacation in Cabo San Lucas where it's sunny, healthy and warm, and the margaritas cold -

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California (and Mexico in general) has been given a bad rap with its tourist industry being devastated by the current hysteria over what is being termed a garden variety type of flu. Influenzas in general kill an average of over 35,000 persons in the USA annually. Entering the 5th month of pig flu hysteria a 100 or so persons died in the US of the new A(H1N1) flu with most according to health experts, having other health issues to begin with. But the conservatives have had a field day bashing Mexico over the issue anyway.

Lets put it in perspective. Approximately 36,000 deaths occur in the US annually due to influenzas. A couple hundred mortalities is a small percentage of 36,000 - especially given that many of these 44 cases had other serious ailments as well. Approximately 2,000 die monthly in auto accidents with half being alcohol related. Toss in deaths by guns, cancer or other factors and the 44 from swine flu becomes moot. All hysteria over a normal seasonal flu. Yes it's pandemic - so is the common cold. Pandemic just means its global - but the bottom line is - only hundreds of people are dying from it worldwide. We're not talking the Spanish influenza of 100 years ago in which 50 million died in six months.

Ashley Alvarado, editor of Los Cabos Magazine writes at the end of the first week in May-"At present there have been zero reported cases of the influenza A(H1N1) infection, more commonly known as the swine flu, in all of Baja California Sur, the state encompassing both Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. By June, 2009 - there had been several cases treated in Baja Sur hospitals - and all recovered several days later. Cruise ships have returned to Cabo and the public is going about without masks.

That´s more than Los Angeles, New York, or much of the United States can say, as demonstrated by this interactive and regularly updated map on the Pan American Health Organization’s website. The nearest suspected swine flu cases are in the San Diego USA and Tijuana region a thousand miles away from the sun and sand of Los Cabos.

For those unfamiliar with Mexican geography, the state of Baja California (sometimes referred to as Baja California Norte) is the northernmost state in the Baja Peninsula and contains cities such as Mexicali, Ensenada, and Tijuana.

Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo (collectively known as Los Cabos), meanwhile, are located in the state of Baja California Sur, at the southern tip of the peninsula. The media tends to blend the two in their reporting. Like blending Washington state with Southern California.

As the story develops and health officials across the globe gather new information, it is becoming clearer and clearer that it is, indeed, safe to travel, especially to destinations like Los Cabos. On May 1, the World Health Organization, which has been tracking the spread of the virus worldwide, released a statement saying there was no rationale for travel restrictions, noting that such action “would have very little effect on stopping the virus from spreading, but would be highly disruptive to the global community.”

New statements by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano suggest concerns about the swine flu may be largely unwarranted. Napolitano said the virus, is no more dangerous than the common flu: "What the epidemiologists are seeing now with this particular strain…is that the severity of the disease, the severity of the flu—how sick you get—is not stronger than regular seasonal flu."

There is simply no reason you shouldn’t enjoy a fabulous and safe vacation to Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur. Especially right now. In Cabo you'll get great deals on everything from hotels to all kinds of fun activities, and you'll avoid the flu back in the USA.

If you really want to save money - remember - Dental Tourists Vacation Virtually Free in Cabo! Goto: www.cabocosmeticdental.com

By Ashley Alvarado & David Mandich Los Cabo Magazine