last updated: Wednesday 29 April 2009, 00:20am

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Swine flu cases continue to rise

A woman wearing a face mask

The swine flu death toll in Mexico has reached 149 as health chiefs warn of a looming pandemic with more countries reporting outbreaks.

The World Health Organisation has lifted its pandemic alert from phase 3 to phase 4, indicating the risk of a deadly global outbreak.

One of the mysteries of the current outbreak is why all cases outside Mexico have so far been relatively mild.

No one has died from the swine flu outside Mexico but there are 52 cases in the US and new infections have been confirmed in Israel and New Zealand.

Canada, Spain and Britain also have confirmed cases, and many other countries have suspected infections, including Australia, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway and South Korea. Four people in the Irish Republic tested for the virus were given the all-clear.

The Geneva-based WHO said the flu is being spread by human-to-human transmission but it did not advise any travel restrictions or border closures.

Worried Mexicans are wearing masks while airlines check passengers for flu symptoms and governments warn against non-essential travel to Mexico.

As Mexico City shut restaurants, bars, cinemas, stadiums and some government offices to stop the infection from spreading, the city's Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said: 'We will defeat this threat.'

Governments around the world are moving to prevent a possible flu pandemic. The European Commission has called an urgent meeting of Health Ministers in Brussels. In Asia, health officials say they have enough anti-flu drugs to deal with an outbreak.

Increased surveillance at airports and ports includes the use of thermal cameras and sensors to single out people with a fever.

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