Chris Thomas

At least one vendor planning to sell at the Latin Fair at Sunday’s Chattanooga Market seems to have been scared off by the association between swine flu and Mexico, the market’s owner said.

“I think there probably is some association or perceived connection with people traveling from Mexico and there being a higher risk of coming in contact with the disease, and they feel — correctly or incorrectly — that there is a greater risk,” market owner/manager Chris Thomas said.

The current outbreak of swine flu began in Mexico, according to the World Health Organization.

A vendor who had a reservation at this week’s market called him this week and canceled, Mr. Thomas said.

“I think primarily (the vendor’s) concerns are the swine flu (exposure) to their employees who work in their business, and they just didn’t want to put them at risk,” Mr. Thomas said.

The market usually has about 120 vendors, he said.

Mr. Thomas pointed out that 36,000 people die each year from the common flu and only one person in the United States has died to date from swine flu. He said the market likely will provide hand sanitizer for its employees and guests as an added precaution.

“We are an open-air market,” he said. “I don’t think the risk of contracting swine flu or any other communicable disease is any greater than at any other time of the year.”

He said he has contacted officials at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department to ask if they would want to provide information or staff a kiosk during the market to answer questions people might have about the illness.

As of late Friday afternoon, he said he hadn’t gotten an answer on whether the health department would come out to the market.

Kasey Poole Decosimo, a health department spokeswoman, said H1N1 “is a new virus and could affect anyone. It is not specific to any culture or country.”

She also said the health department’s recommendation regarding whether people should alter their lifestyles or avoid crowds is that “people should stay at home only if they are feeling ill, and that is the recommendation for any illness. We advise practicing good hygiene.”

According to the Tennessee Department of Health, there have been three suspected cases of swine flu in the state. There has been one suspected case reported in Georgia.