Swine flu fears prompt quarantine plans

World Health Organization's decision Saturday to declare the outbreak first detected in Mexico and the United States a "public health emergency of international concern."

A senior World Health Organization official said the agency's emergency committee will meet for a second time Tuesday to examine the extent to which the virus has spread before deciding whether to increase the alert for a possible pandemic — an epidemic that spreads in humans around the world.

The same strain of the A/H1N1 swine flu virus has been detected in several locations in Mexico and the United States, and it appears to be spreading directly from human to human, said Keiji Fukuda, WHO's assistant director-general in charge of health security.

Reported Cases:
Mexico

• Killed 103 people, sickened 1,600 people
  

United States:

• Found in California, Texas, Kansas, New York, Ohio - no fatalities reported
  

Canada (confirmed on Sunday 4/26):

• 6 cases in Nova Scotia and British Columbia (traveled to Mexico but have recovered)
  

New Zealand:

• 10 Suspected Cases - none are seriously ill
  

Spain:

• 7 Suspected Cases

Israel: Suspected Cases
France: Suspected Cases

Additional Measurements:

Governments including China, Russia and Taiwan began planning to put anyone with symptoms of the deadly virus under quarantine.

Others countries are increasing their screening of pigs and pork imports from the Americas or banning them outright despite health officials' reassurances that it was safe to eat thoroughly cooked pork.

Some nations issued travel warnings for Mexico and the United States.

Hong Kong and Taiwan said visitors who came back from flu-affected areas with fevers would be quarantined. China said anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms within two weeks of arrival from an affected area had to report to authorities. A Russian health agency said any passenger from North America running a fever would be quarantined until the cause of the fever is determined. Tokyo's Narita airport installed a device to test the temperatures of passengers arriving from Mexico.

Indonesia increased surveillance at all entry points for travelers with flu-like symptoms — using devices at airports that were put in place years ago to monitor for severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and bird flu. It said it was ready to quarantine suspected victims if necessary.

Hong Kong and South Korea warned against travel to the Mexican capital and three affected provinces. Italy, Poland and Venezuela also advised their citizens to postpone travel to affected areas of Mexico and the United States.

Russia banned the import of meat products from Mexico, California, Texas and Kansas. South Korea said it would increase the number of its influenza virus checks on pork products from Mexico and the U.S.

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Symptoms of the flu-like illness include a fever of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius), body aches, coughing, a sore throat, respiratory congestion and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea.

No vaccine specifically protects against swine flu, and it is unclear how much protection current human flu vaccines might offer.

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