CANBERRA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Australia's health protection officials including chief medical officer Jim Bishop hold meetings on Sunday to talk about how to guard the nation from the pig flu outbreak in Mexico and the United States.

    "Australia has good communicable disease surveillance and control systems in place to detect and respond to outbreaks of illness," a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Ageing said.

    A new flu feared to have killed up to 81 people in Mexico has pandemic potential, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Sunday, as concerns grow of the virus spreading in the U.S. and worldwide.

    "Anyone that has returned from Mexico with influenza-like symptoms since March this year should seek advice from their general practitioner or public health unit," the spokeswomen said.

2 swine flu cases confirmed in U.S. state of Kansas 

    WASHINGTON, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Saturday confirmed two cases of swine flu in the state.

    A spokeswoman said the department is planning to release details on the two cases at a news conference later Saturday.  Full story

U.S. expects more swine flue cases: CDC

    WASHINGTON, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The United States is expected to embrace more cases of swine flu because the virus can not be contained, an official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Saturday.

    "With infections in many different communities as we're seeing, we don't think that containment is feasible," said Anne Schucha, interim deputy director for the CDC's science and public health program.  Full story

Probable swine flu cases found in New York school

    NEW YORK, April 25 (Xinhua) -- At least eight students of a non-public school in New York City were found to have probable human swine influenza, New York health officials said on Saturday.

    More than 100 students at the school in the New York City borough of Queens were sick this week with fever and other flu-like symptoms, the New York City Health Department said in a press release.  Full story

Texas high school closing after possible new case of swine flu found

    HOUSTON, April 25 (Xinhua) -- A high school in the U.S. state of Texas is temporarily closing after a new possible case of the deadly swine flu was identified there, health officials said Saturday.

    Byron Steele High School in Guadalupe County near San Antonio, Texas, will "temporarily close effective immediately as public health and school officials work to keep swine influenza from spreading", the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said in a press release.  Full story

Mexican president holds emergency meeting on flu outbreak

A man wearing a mask walks past a Mexican flag in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, April 24, 2009. The government of Mexico City is launching a massive vaccination campaign throughout the city against swine flu, which has possibly killed dozens nationwide. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    MEXICO CITY, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Friday held an emergency meeting at the Presidential Office with ministers, health authorities and experts to discuss measures to deal with the deadly flu outbreak.

    Calderon also decided to inform Mexicans about the nationwide flu outbreak.  Full story

WHO declares swine flu outbreak "public health emergency"

    GENEVA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO)on Saturday declared the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the United States a "public health emergency of international concern" and urged countries to be alert. 

    Based on the advice of a WHO emergency committee, Director-general Margaret Chan "has determined that the current events constitute a public health emergency of international concern," the UN agency said in a statement.  Full story

China on alert to prevent swine flu infection

    BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued an emergency notice Saturday night requiring people to report flu-like symptoms at the point of entry when coming from the deadly swine flu affected places.

    This is China's latest move in response to the outbreaks of human infection of Swine Influenza A/H1N1 in Mexico and the United States.  Full story

Hong Kong to enhance surveillance at boundary control points for Swine Flu

    HONG KONG, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong will step up local surveillance systems at boundary control points and the public health laboratory in light of outbreaks of human infection of Swine Influenza A/H1N1 in Mexico and the United States, the Center for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health of Hong Kong announced on Saturday.

    Travelers from the affected places who are found to have Swine Influenza symptoms at Hong Kong's boundary control points will be taken to hospitals for further investigation. Laboratory testing for Swine Influenza will be conducted for patients with influenza-like-illness who had traveled to the affected places within 7 days before onset of symptoms. Full story

Japan tightens measures against swine flu threat after outbreak in Mexico

    TOKYO, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Japan has tightened preventive measures against the threat of swine flu as the deadly outbreaks in Mexico claimed more than 60 human lives.

    At a meeting of ministry and agency section chiefs Saturday, the government decided to strengthen measures to prevent the virulent strain of swine flu from spreading to Japan and issued an advisory for travelers to Mexico and the United States, where eight people were infected with the disease, that urges precautions such as wearing masks and washing hands, and called on all people returning from either country to report unusual symptoms.  Full story

S Korea to tighten quarantine measures for U.S., Mexican pork

    SEOUL, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean government announced to tighten quarantine measures for pork from the United States and Mexico after outbreaks of swine influenza in these countries, local media reported on Sunday.

    South Korea's National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service announced Saturday that U.S. and Mexican pork to be imported from Monday will be put in quarantine to check if it was infected with the disease.  Full story

Backgrounder: Key facts about swine flu