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GENEVA - The World Health Organization went on high alert Friday, dispatching top experts to battle an outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and two southern US states suspected of causing scores of deaths.
"Because there are human cases associated with an animal influenza virus, and because of the geographical spread of multiple community outbreaks, plus the somewhat unusual age groups affected, these events are of high concern," the Swiss-based body said in a statement.
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova confirmed 20 deaths from swine flu Friday and said authorities were probing 40 more possible fatalities and 943 possible infections.
United States medical authorities also expressed strong concern as eight known, non-fatal cases were reported, with President Barack Obama being fully briefed on an outbreak, according to a White House spokesman.
The WHO said Canadian laboratory testing had confirmed 18 cases of swine fever among almost 1,000 Mexicans found to have an influenza-like illness in three regions -- of which 62 died.
The UN health agency said samples from 12 were "genetically identical" to cases detected in the US state of California.
Of the Mexican cases, 18 have been laboratory confirmed in Canada as Swine Influenza A/H1N1, while 12 of those are genetically identical to the Swine Influenza A/H1N1 viruses from California," the WHO said in its statement.
The UN body is sending a team of experts to Mexico to work with health authorities there, with its head Margaret Chan due to speak on the issue Saturday, her spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told AFP.
The US is also probing nine suspect cases, and while only one of its eight confirmed cases required brief hospitalisation and no deaths have been reported, the WHO is concerned about the pattern of infection.
"The majority of (the Mexican) cases have occurred in otherwise healthy young adults. Influenza normally affects the very young and the very old, but these age groups have not been heavily affected in Mexico," the WHO added.
Authorities in Mexico have launched a huge campaign to prevent the spread of the virus, including closing schools and urging people to avoid contacts in public.
"It has been confirmed that 20 of those (dead) are from this illness and the other 40 are being analysed," Cordova told a news conference.
The WHO's concern is amplified because "the viruses characterised in this outbreak have not been previously detected in pigs or humans," the statement underlined.
- AFP /ls
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