Swine Flu Fears Spread Overseas in Britain, France, Israel, Spain & New Zealand

As swine flu is said to have taken the lives of 81 victims so far worldwide, Mexico and the United States are particularly on edge. But in the age of globalization and quick international travel, the rest of the world is now also concerned about the potential for a global flu pandemic. Doctors in the UK, France, Israel, Spain, and New Zealand are now also treating people who may have contracted the illness.

The swine flu, which is said to have originated in Mexico, already has confirmed outbreaks in the US. The World Health Organization warned of the possibility of a global pandemic, and members are to meet on Tuesday to decide if the alert level should be raised.

According to New Zealand's health minister Tony Ryall, 13 students returned from Mexico yesterday were tested for swine influenza, and 10 had positive results. He says that the cases are "likely" to be swine flu, and the results have been sent to the WHO lab in Melbourne, Australia.

England was also on alert Saturday after a British Airways cabin crew member complained of "flu-like symptoms" midway through a flight from Mexico City to Heathrow. The man was put in isolation in a West London hospital and was being treated by staff trained in infectious disease controls. It was confirmed Sunday morning, however, that he did not have swine flu.

An Israeli man was hospitalized Sunday after returning from Mexico with signs of swine flu. The man, 26, has been isolated and doctors are trying to deterine whether he has been infected with the swine flu virus.

French officials report that they have two suspected cases of swine flu. Two people who returned home to France after Mexico showed signs of the illness, and are being tested to confirm if it is indeed swine flu.

Spain has also said that they've tested and isolated three people returning home from Mexico with symptoms of swine flu. These cases have not yet been confirmed.

Panic has already spread throughout Mexico, where the swine flu has killed 81, mostly between the ages of 25 and 45. More than 1,300 patients were being treated in Mexico for respiratory infections that showed signs of the new strain.

Experts say that this particular virus poses the biggest threat of pandemic since the bird flu began to spread in 2003. That killed 256 people in 15 countries.

The virus has spread to the United States, with the first cases appearing in Texas and California. On Saturday, it was reported that a number of cases were found in Kansas and New York. A total of 19 people have been infected in the US, eight of whom have already recovered.

Saturday evening it also emerged that President Barack Obama had met one of the possible victims earlier this month. During his visit to Mexico City on April 16, he was greeted by archaeologist Felipe Solis, who died the next day from flu-like symptoms.

There is no vaccine for the new strain of influenza, but patients who fall ill with it can be treated with antiviral drugs. Tamiflu is said to be effective against the virus.

CDC officials in the US have said the virus contains a unique combination of gene segments that have never before been seen in humans or pigs. It contains human virus, avian virus from North American, and pig viruses from North America, Europe, and Asia. While health officials have seen mixes of bird, pig and human virus before, they have never seen such an intercontinental mix with more than one pig virus in the mix.

The age of the victims thus far has heightened fears that this virus could be the beginning of a new pandemic. Most of the victims of the 1918 Spanish flu, which wiped out about 50 million people worldwide were men and women in their prime.

Saturday night medical experts said that while this particular swine flu starts off like a normal flu, the victims temperatures soon shot up to 102F, with muscle aches so painful they were almost paralyzing. It is also characterized by extremely painful headaches and eventually diarrhea and vomiting.