Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.
Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.
when you try to comment it will ask for a username and passwod just use mine...
The EU's health chief has urged people not to panic over swine flu, as European ministers rejected a proposal for an EU-wide Mexico travel ban.
"We have to exercise vigilance, we should not panic, we have to be prepared," Androulla Vassiliou said.
The ministers were considering a French plan for an EU-wide travel advisory.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its pandemic alert to five, the second-highest level, but says it has no immediate plans for
another rise.
"We do not have any evidence to suggest that we should move to phase six today, or any such move is imminent right now," said WHO Assistant Director General Keiji Fukuda.
But he added that the situation was still evolving rapidly.
In Mexico, the centre of the outbreak, the number of confirmed cases rose to 97 - up from 26 on Wednesday. Dr Fukuda said this was due to many laboratory results coming in.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon urged people to stay at home over the next five days.
There are many cases elsewhere - including the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Israel, and New Zealand.
BBC health correspondent Matt McGrath says many experts remain hopeful that even if this happens, the effects of the H1N1 virus will be mild.
None of the dozens of cases of swine flu reported on the continent so far has been severe.
The only deaths from the virus have been recorded in Mexico and the US.
USERNAME:- meganwhitwam@hotmail.co.uk
PASSWORD:- jesus12345
I'm feeling feeling much better now. The worst part was definitely when I first got it and I felt completely knocked out. It was quite scary because it came from out of the blue.
Being ill when you are away from home is always worse. It was terrifying at first because there was no information about the symptoms or what to do.
Doctors were not doing home visits. I had to wait until I felt well enough to get myself to the hospital.
I don't know how I got it. I have not been near pigs and I haven't eaten pork. I can only assume it has come from person to person contact, possibly on the Metro.
I'm now sitting at home and getting better. Mexico City is usually such a bustling and busy place but at the moment it's like a ghost town.
My workplace is closed, the banks are closed, restaurants and cafes are closed and only a few shops are open. The streets are abnormally quiet and it feels really strange.
A Mexican child dies of swine flu in Texas - the first such death outside Mexico, where the virus may have killed up to 159. But 17 out off that 159 seem to died of the swine flu.
almost 1,000 people in hospital with symptoms.
The number of cases under observation in Mexico alone has reportedly reached 1,614.
But Vivienne Allan, from WHO's patient safety program, said the body had confirmed that worldwide there had been just seven deaths - all in Mexico - and 79 confirmed cases of the disease.
"Unfortunately that (150-plus deaths) is incorrect information and it does happen, but that's not information that's come from the World Health Organisation," Ms Allan told ABC Radio on Wednesday morning.
"That figure is not a figure that's come from the World Health Organisation and, I repeat, the death toll is seven and they are all from Mexico."
Ms Allan said WHO had confirmed 40 cases of swine flu in the Americas, 26 in Mexico, six in Canada, two in Spain, two in the UK and three in New Zealand.
Ms Allan said it was difficult to measure how fast the virus was spreading.
She said a real concern would be if the flu virus manifested in a country where a person had had no contact with Mexico, and authorities were watching all countries for signs of that.
"There is no pattern that has emerged at this stage to be able to say that it is spreading in a particular way or it is spreading into a particular country ... the situation is continuing to evolve," she said.
She said the WHO was not recommending against overseas travel, but urged those who felt sick to stay home and others to ensure they kept their hands clean.
No decision had yet been made about vaccinations.
"This virus is not airborne, it's caused by droplets ... so it's not a time for worry. It's a time to be prepared," Ms Allan said.
