Asia, Europe mobilize against spread of swine flu

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Asian and European countries took steps to block the spread of swine flu Monday, as Mexico increased the number of suspected victims to 103 dead and 1,614 total cases.

Cases have also been confirmed in the Spain, Canada, and the US, with suspected cases in at least five other countries.

Governments across Asia dusted off measures last adopted during the SARS crisis of 2003, which remains fresh in peoples' memories here. The new crisis is also an echo of the H5N1 bird flu virus, which has killed hundreds, mostly in southeast Asia.

The BBC reported that the new swine virus has only been confirmed as the cause of 20 of the deaths in Mexico.

The news service said that tests were being "carried out on individuals or groups in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Brazil, Britain, and Israel who fell ill following travel to Mexico."

Spain on Monday reported Europe's first confirmed case of swine flu, in a young man recently returned from Mexico, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Airports in Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines put up thermal scanners last used in the SARS scare, and South Korea and Indonesia took similar measures, the AP reported.

In addition, the Philippines temporarily banned pork from the US and Mexico. Russia, China, and Thailand also banned pork imports from Mexico and parts of the US, though a World Health Organization (WHO) official said "there was no evidence to link exposure to pork with infection," the BBC reports.WHO officials will meet in Geneva tomorrow to decide whether to raise the pandemic threat level, the BBC said. The UK said it has "stepped up" surveillance to guard against the disease.

Reuters reports that China yesterday started immediately returning or destroying pork shipments from Mexico and three US states.

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