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| WHO raises pandemic alert level | WHO raises pandemic alert level |
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| The UN's World Health Organization has raised the alert over the spread of swine flu to level five - one short of a full-blown pandemic. | The UN's World Health Organization has raised the alert over the spread of swine flu to level five - one short of a full-blown pandemic. |
| A phase five alert means human-to-human transmission in at least two countries. | A phase five alert means human-to-human transmission in at least two countries. |
| The move comes after a 23-month-old Mexican child died in Texas - the first death from swine flu outside Mexico, where the outbreak originated. | The move comes after a 23-month-old Mexican child died in Texas - the first death from swine flu outside Mexico, where the outbreak originated. |
| In Spain, officials confirmed the first case of swine flu in a person who has not travelled to Mexico. | In Spain, officials confirmed the first case of swine flu in a person who has not travelled to Mexico. |
| Announcing the increased alert level in Geneva, WHO Director General Margaret Chan urged all countries to activate their pandemic plans, including heightened surveillance and infection-control measures. | |
| CONFIRMED CASES Mexico: 159 suspected deaths - seven confirmed cases US: one death, at least 91 confirmed casesCanada: 13 confirmed casesUK: 5 confirmed casesSpain: 10 confirmed casesGermany, New Zealand: 3 confirmed cases each Israel: 2 confirmed casesAustria: 1 case Mapping the outbreak In pictures: Concerns grow Mexico: First swine flu cases | |
| She said action should be undertaken with "increased urgency". | She said action should be undertaken with "increased urgency". |
| She added: "It really is the whole of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic." | |
| The Mexican boy had arrived in the Texan border city of Brownsville on 4 April and developed flu symptoms four days later, the Texas Department of State Health Services said. | |
| He was later transferred to a hospital in Houston, where he died on Monday night. | |
| Speaking in Washington, President Barack Obama offered his condolences and said the federal government was doing the utmost to contain the virus. | |
| He also urged local public-health bodies to be vigilant and said schools with confirmed cases "should consider closing". | |
| Texas Governor Rick Perry said closing the US border with Mexico was an option, but added that taking that step now would be "a little premature". | |
| Spanish case | |
| The WHO has said measures like travel bans were unlikely to prove effective. | |
| SYMPTOMS - WHAT TO DO Swine flu symptoms are similar to those produced by ordinary seasonal flu - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigueIf you have flu symptoms and recently visited affected areas of Mexico, you should seek medical adviceIf you suspect you are infected, you should stay at home and take advice by telephone initially, in order to minimise the risk of infection Q&A: What is swine flu? Swine flu: How serious a threat? Can masks help spread? The quest for a swine flu vaccine | |
| France will ask the European Union on Thursday to suspend all flights going to Mexico because of the flu outbreak, Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said. | |
| In Spain, the government said the first person to contract swine flu without having travelled to Mexico was the boyfriend of a young woman who had recently returned from there. | |
| Spanish Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez said such cases were to be expected. | |
| In total, the number of confirmed cased in Spain rose from two to 10 on Wednesday. None of them are seriously ill. | |
| In Mexico, the search for the source of the outbreak continues, with the focus on the vicinity of a pig farm in the eastern part of the country. | |
| The Mexican government is urging against jumping to conclusions and is suggesting the possibility remains that the virus originated outside the country. | |
| Schools across Mexico have closed, public gatherings are restricted and archaeological sites have been placed off-limits. | |
| Mexico City's chamber of commerce estimated restrictions in the city were costing businesses there at least 777 million pesos ($57m or £39m) a day. | |
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