More countries confirm swine flu
New cases of the deadly swine flu virus have been confirmed as far afield as New Zealand and Israel, as the UN warns it cannot be contained.
The US, Canada, Spain and Britain confirmed cases earlier but no deaths have been reported outside Mexico, where the virus was first reported.
Mexico has raised the number of probable deaths to 152, with 1,614 suspected sufferers under observation.
UN inspectors are to examine reports that pig farms spread the virus.
The UN’s health agency, the World Health Organization, said the flu had spread between humans, but did not recommend travel restrictions or border closures.
WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl says the swine flu outbreak is at a ‘turning point’
EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said she did not see “any point of restricting travelling”.
WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl confirmed that work was under way to produce a vaccine, but it would typically be five to six months before it became commercially available.
Health experts say the virus comes from the same strain that causes seasonal outbreaks in humans but also contains genetic material from versions of flu which usually affect pigs and birds.
Students infected
In New Zealand, Health Minister Tony Ryall said at least three students who had travelled to Mexico were suffering from swine flu.
Israeli health officials confirmed on Tuesday that the country now had two people infected with the virus. Both sufferers had recently been to Mexico.
Fifty cases have been confirmed in the US and six in Canada.
Two swine flu cases have been confirmed in the UK and two in Spain.
The EU health commissioner said on Tuesday that patients were also under observation in Denmark, Sweden, Greece, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and the Irish Republic.
Tests are being carried out on individuals or groups in Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Australia and South Korea.
A number of countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe have begun screening airport passengers for symptoms, while Germany’s biggest tour operator has suspended trips to Mexico.
Pig farm theory
A team from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation is due to leave Rome for Mexico on Tuesday.
Its chief veterinary officer, Joseph Domenech, told the BBC that rumours that people had been falling ill last month near some intensive pig farms meant the FAO had to act.
The WHO has raised its alert level to four, or two steps short of a full pandemic.
Alert level four means the virus is showing a sustained ability to pass from human to human and is able to cause community-level outbreaks.
WHO deputy chief Keiji Fukuda said this was a “significant step towards pandemic influenza” but a pandemic should not be considered inevitable.
“With the virus being widespread… closing borders or restricting travel really has very little effects in stopping the movement of this virus,” he added.
WHO spokesman Dick Thompson told the BBC it was encouraging countries to begin intensive surveillance systems of possible infection and pass the information to the organisation.
“It helps you to identify where the virus is, who has it, what the source of that virus might have been and what kind of illness it produces,” he said.
“If this is all brought in to WHO … it will give us a better idea about the vigour of this virus.”
‘Decline in cases’
In Mexico, swine flu has been confirmed in 20 of the 152 known deaths.
Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said all of those who had died were aged between 20 and 50. Infections among young healthy adults are a characteristic of past pandemics.
He noted that the number of new cases reported by Mexico’s largest government hospitals had declined during the past three days: from 141 on Saturday to 119 on Sunday and 110 on Monday.
In almost all swine flu cases outside Mexico, people have been only mildly ill and have made a full recovery.
Source: BBC News
The US, Canada, Spain and Britain confirmed cases earlier but no deaths have been reported outside Mexico, where the virus was first reported.
Mexico has raised the number of probable deaths to 152, with 1,614 suspected sufferers under observation.
UN inspectors are to examine reports that pig farms spread the virus.
The UN’s health agency, the World Health Organization, said the flu had spread between humans, but did not recommend travel restrictions or border closures.
WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl says the swine flu outbreak is at a ‘turning point’
EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said she did not see “any point of restricting travelling”.
WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl confirmed that work was under way to produce a vaccine, but it would typically be five to six months before it became commercially available.
Health experts say the virus comes from the same strain that causes seasonal outbreaks in humans but also contains genetic material from versions of flu which usually affect pigs and birds.
Students infected
In New Zealand, Health Minister Tony Ryall said at least three students who had travelled to Mexico were suffering from swine flu.
Israeli health officials confirmed on Tuesday that the country now had two people infected with the virus. Both sufferers had recently been to Mexico.
Fifty cases have been confirmed in the US and six in Canada.
Two swine flu cases have been confirmed in the UK and two in Spain.
The EU health commissioner said on Tuesday that patients were also under observation in Denmark, Sweden, Greece, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and the Irish Republic.
Tests are being carried out on individuals or groups in Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Australia and South Korea.
A number of countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe have begun screening airport passengers for symptoms, while Germany’s biggest tour operator has suspended trips to Mexico.
Pig farm theory
A team from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation is due to leave Rome for Mexico on Tuesday.
Its chief veterinary officer, Joseph Domenech, told the BBC that rumours that people had been falling ill last month near some intensive pig farms meant the FAO had to act.
The WHO has raised its alert level to four, or two steps short of a full pandemic.
Alert level four means the virus is showing a sustained ability to pass from human to human and is able to cause community-level outbreaks.
WHO deputy chief Keiji Fukuda said this was a “significant step towards pandemic influenza” but a pandemic should not be considered inevitable.
“With the virus being widespread… closing borders or restricting travel really has very little effects in stopping the movement of this virus,” he added.
WHO spokesman Dick Thompson told the BBC it was encouraging countries to begin intensive surveillance systems of possible infection and pass the information to the organisation.
“It helps you to identify where the virus is, who has it, what the source of that virus might have been and what kind of illness it produces,” he said.
“If this is all brought in to WHO … it will give us a better idea about the vigour of this virus.”
‘Decline in cases’
In Mexico, swine flu has been confirmed in 20 of the 152 known deaths.
Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said all of those who had died were aged between 20 and 50. Infections among young healthy adults are a characteristic of past pandemics.
He noted that the number of new cases reported by Mexico’s largest government hospitals had declined during the past three days: from 141 on Saturday to 119 on Sunday and 110 on Monday.
In almost all swine flu cases outside Mexico, people have been only mildly ill and have made a full recovery.
Source: BBC News
