Mexico said it was winning the battle against a deadly new strain of flu as it stayed largely shut for business and cases dropped but global health officials warned against complacency. World Health Organisation chief Dr Margaret Chan said the news from Mexico, where the new H1N1 strain was first seen, has to be treated with caution.
-- WHO chief warns against dropping guard
-- Mexico and China row over quarantine measures
-- 1,003 cases in 20 countries confirmed
"Flu viruses are very unpredictable, very deceptive ... We should not be over-confident," she said. "One must not give H1N1 the opportunity to mix with other viruses." Just over 1,000 people in 20 countries have caught what has become known as the swine flu but UN chief Ban Ki-moon said WHO does not plan to raise its pandemic alert to the highest level if the current outbreak of the new strain of flu continues as is.
Before issuing a level 6 alert, WHO would need to see the virus spreading within communities in Europe or Asia. In Mexico, many offices and businesses stayed closed to try to prevent the spread of the new strain of H1N1 swine flu. Twenty countries world-wide have banned imports of pork and other meat, according to WHO documents obtained by Reuters.
While the new H1N1 strain is not foodborne, fears that it may spread through animal products have prompted restrictions on live pigs, pork, cattle, poultry, livestock, feed and animal semen from countries with reported infections, according to the documents. Mexico is to send a plane to retrieve dozens of its nationals confined across China, which quarantined them as a protective measure.
Mexico accused Beijing of discrimination against Mexicans but Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu rejected the criticism. "The measures concerned are not directed at Mexican citizens and there is no discrimination," Ma said in a statement on the ministry website (http://www.mfa.gov.cn).
Mexico's Health Ministry said on Sunday the epidemic had passed the worst and experts said the virus might be no more severe than normal flu - for now. "The virus has entered into a stabilisation phase. The cases are starting to decrease," President Felipe Calderon said. "Our objective is to return to normality as soon as possible but what I want is to do that in secure conditions." Twenty-six people have died in Mexico from the disease and another 701 have become ill.
In the United States, the flu has spread to 30 states and infected 226 people, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Cases have been seen mostly among older children and adults under 50 - not the usual pattern for seasonal flu. The US government hopes vaccine makers will have a vaccine ready for the new flu strain by the autumn. Few countries are ready to take chances with the new virus. WHO said flu surveillance should be increased in humans and animals now that the latest H1N1 strain was found to have infected pigs in Canada.