Vigilance stepped up for swine flu around world

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Source: CCTV.com | 04-26-2009 15:47

It wasn't very long ago that the world recovered from fears relating to SARS and bird flu. But the recent outbreak of a new form of swine flu is once again raising anxiety levels around the world.

A quarantine officer monitors travelers with a thermographic device at an arrival gate at Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, April 26, 2009.  (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

The World Health Organization is calling for stepped up vigilance, saying Mexico's swine flu outbreak has the potential to turn into a worldwide pandemic.

The recent human infection of swine flu A-H-1-N-1 in Mexico and the United States involve a new H-1-N-1 swine flu strain. It's a mixture of the swine, human and avian flu viruses.

Human symptoms include fever, lethargy, cough and lack of appetite. Potential ways for human transmission include sneezing, coughing or other physical contact.

The most deadly cases in recent outbreaks are in people between the ages of 25 and 45. But scientists say most medicines for ordinary flu are effective for the swine flu virus.

Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cooked pork and pork products do not cause infection. That's because the virus is killed at temperatures higher than 71 degrees Celsius.