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• 04 / 27 / 2009

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The World Health Organization said Monday there are now 40 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States and that it was "very concerned" about the disease's spread.

WHO said none of the cases in the United States have been fatal, and the figures were confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Still, the U.N. agency could decide in a matter of hours whether to raise its pandemic alert level as a result of the increasing number of confirmed swine flu cases in Mexico and elsewhere, WHO spokesman Paul Garwood said.

Spain confirmed the first swine flu case outside North America on Monday, and suspected cases from New Zealand to Israel were raising concern that the new virus was spreading rapidly.

Mexico still appeared the epicenter, with 1,614 suspected swine flu cases and as many as 103 deaths in which the virus is suspected, according to Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova.

The United States had previously confirmed at least 20 cases of swine flu and Canada had confirmed six. Customs agents began checking people coming into the United States by land and air.

Garwood said the situation was being discussed Monday at an emergency meeting chaired by WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan.

He said the initial information about the case in Spain indicates the disease was transmitted in Mexico and not passed among people in Spain.

Raising the pandemic alert level to level 4 from the current level of 3 would be an official recognition that the disease was being passed among people. The move could lead governments to set trade, travel and other restrictions aimed at limiting the disease's spread.

Source: USA Today