Swine fever: WHO fears a pandemic is ‘imminent’

The World Health Organisation in Geneva has raised its swine fever virus alert level to five, a "strong signal that a pandemic is imminent". Level six - the highest - would mean the world was in the grip of a full-blown pandemic.

The move follows the death, reported yesterday, of a 23-month-old Mexican baby in Texas - the first death reported outside Mexico - and the crucial confirmation in Spain of the first case of swine flu found in someone who had not themselves been to Mexico.

The Spanish government said the sufferer was the boyfriend of a young woman who had recently returned from Mexico.

In Mexico itself, where the number of suspected deaths from the virus remains at 159, President Felipe Calderon announced the temporary suspension of non-essential public works and services until May 5 in an effort to contain the virus. Schools, restaurants and churches have already been closed.

Announcing alert level five on Wednesday, the WHO's director-general Margaret Chan urged all governments to activate their pandemic plans, which should include heightened surveillance and measures to control the spread of the virus. "It really is the whole of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic," she said.

But on a more positive note, she added that the world was "better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the House of Commons on Wednesday that Britain was stepping up airport checks, expanding anti-viral stocks from 35 million to 50 million and ordering extra face masks. Leaflets about preventative measures would start going out to every household within days.

Measures to restrict large gatherings in Britain, such as concerts and football matches, will not be introduced yet, but are a possibility. WHO official Keiji Fukuda stressed on Wednesday that governments need to consider such "social distancing" measures.

Peru has become the latest country to confirm a case of swine flu. Other countries reporting confirmed cases are the United States, Canada, Britain, Spain, Germany, Austria, Israel and New Zealand.