A deadly swine flu never seen before has broken out in Mexico, killing at least 16 people and raising fears of a possible pandemic. The World Health Organisation said it was concerned at what it called 800 "influenza-like" cases in Mexico, and also about a confirmed outbreak of a new strain of swine flu in the United States.
Mexico cancelled classes for millions of children in its sprawling capital city and surrounding area on Friday after authorities noticed a higher number of flu-like deaths than normal in recent weeks.
"It is a virus that mutated from pigs and then at some point was transmitted to humans," Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova told the Televisa network. The Geneva-based UN agency said it was in daily contact with US, Canadian and Mexican authorities and had activated its Strategic Health Operations Center (SHOC) - its command and control center for acute public health events.
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