As the death toll from swine flu in Mexico rises, follow the latest updates on the virus and the precautions taken by authorities all over the world

9.55am:

New Zealand's health minister, Tony Ryall, said today that 10 students who just returned from Mexico have tested positive for influenza. He said the cases are "likely" to be swine flu.

But he added there was "no guarantee" the students had swine flu, and that none of the patients were seriously ill and seemed to be recovering.

The World Health Organisation has produced a Q&A on the virus. It warns: "If a swine virus established efficient human-to human transmission, it can cause an influenza pandemic."

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has produced a video to explain swine flu

10.11am:

A Google Map tracking reports of Swine Flu has been created.

10.27am:

Twitter is spreading global panic about swine flu, according to Evgeny Morozov, writing in the respect US journal, Foreign Policy.



In moments like this, one is tempted to lament the death of broadcasting, for it seems that the information from expert sources – government, doctors, and the like – should probably be prioritized over everything else and have a higher chance of being seen that the information from the rest of one's Twitter-feed, full of speculation, misinformation, and gossip.

10.36am:

Yeny Gregorio Davila, a doctor in Mexico, reckons that more than 200 people have died. The official death toll currently stands at 81.

Davila told the BBC:



As a doctor, I realise that the media does not report the truth. Authorities distributed vaccines among all the medical personnel with no results, because two of my partners who worked in this hospital (interns) were killed by this new virus in less than six days even though they were vaccinated as all of us were. The official number of deaths is 20, nevertheless, the true number of victims are more than 200. I understand that we must avoid to panic, but telling the truth it might be better now to prevent and avoid more deaths.

10.46am:

A number of new swine flu Facebook groups have sprung up, including sensible ones like this with more than 150 members and the daft "fuck you, swine flu".

10.54am:

The Guardian has produced an interactive guide to the 1918 influenza pandemic, which killed up to 100 million people.

11.01am:

There are no reported cases of swine flu in European Union countries, the EU Commission has announced, despite fears about suspected cases in France and London. The cabin crew member of a British Airways flight from Mexico tested negative for the virus today.

11.09am:

New Zealand's health minister, Tony Ryall, tells 3 News that it is "highly likely" that 10 students have contracted swine flu but most are recovering. They are being treated with Tamiflu.

11.17am:

Ryall told BBC News 24 that there are concerns about a second school party who have returned to New Zealand from Mexico. "We are taking this very seriously, but the good news is that students are all on the road to recovery" he said.

11.26am:

The White House has announced there are no health concerns about Barack Obama after he was escorted around a museum in Mexico, earlier this month, by a man who died the next day from flu-like symptoms.

11.37am:

Perhaps to counter the spread of panic on Twitter, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is itself tweeting regular updates and advice.

"Wash Your Hands! It's the single most important thing you can do to keep from getting sick," says one recent update. It's advice on swine flu got one million views yesterday.

12.08pm:

The authorities in Israel are concerned about a man who has just returned from Mexico and who checked himself into hospital with flu-like symptoms, according to the website of newspaper Haaretz.

12.37pm:

Patrick Henshaw, whose son Hayden, is one of three students in Texas, who acquired the virus, has spoken to ABC news about the family's ordeal.

He said:

They wanted us to stay in the house, and they won't let anyone stay in the house. Hayden's in the house. They told him to stay in his room for five days. We were told not to go in and out and interact with other people [for an indefinite amount of time]. I hate to know that someone got sick because we leave the house. So we are going to stick by the rules.

1.01pm:

The UK's Health Protection Agency has sent out a checklist on swine flu to NHS Direct and the NHS trusts, it told my colleague Ian Sample, one of the Guardian's science correspondents. The website of Health Protection Agency is currently down.

1.10pm:

Dr Alan Hay, director of the World Influenza Centre in London, told the BBC Newsnight science editor, Susan Watts, that he doesn't want to be alarmist.

But he said: "It looks pretty ominous, one has to say. It's difficult to look on the bright side at the moment."

On her blog Watts writes:



Dr Hay said this H1 swine flu virus is "already worse than H5", in terms of "the number of cases, the number of deaths and the locality of the area affected...This isn't sporadic, this is human". Dr Hay stressed that it may turn out that the situation is less alarming than it appears now, but this will be hard to assess until experts know clinical details of the cases in Mexico, such as the length of time from infection to death.

1.28pm:

Canada's CBC News reports possible cases of swine flu among students in Nova Scotia.

Meanwhile, Google Maps Mania notes the spread of attempts to map reports of outbreaks.

1.41pm:

A committee of experts will meet again on Tuesday to advise the World Health Organisation on whether to raise the current pandemic alert level.

"We need more epidemiological evidence from Mexico before the experts would be in a position to advise on a pandemic change," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters.

1.43pm:

Ian Sample, the Guardian's science correspondent, reports on efforts to combat the virus in the UK. He writes:

Scientists at the WHO's flu laboratory at the National Institute for Medical Research in north London spent this weekend working on the virus and expect to have diagnostic kits that can detect the strain ready within a few days. "This virus has emerged very suddenly and right now, the ability to detect people who are carrying the infection is a very high priority," said Alan Hay, director of the laboratory. Genetic tests show the swine virus is similar to a strain that is endemic in North American pigs, but contains two genes from a strain found in European and Asian pigs. The government has already stockpiled doses of the antiviral drug, tamiflu, which will be given as a priority to healthcare workers should the virus reach Britain. Experts said the flu jab was likely to offer only limited protection against the strain. "It looks as though it's too late to think about trying to contain it," Hay said. The Health Protection Agency has given NHS Direct a checklist to help identify those who may be suffering from the infection from the worried well.

2.08pm:

The White House is to host a briefing on the US response to swine flu at 4.30pm (GMT).

It will include Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary and the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Richard Besser.

3.00pm:

Associated Press reports:



French health ministry officials said four possible cases of swine flu are currently under investigation, including a family of three in the northern Nord region and a woman in the Paris region. The four recently returned from Mexico. Tests on two separate cases of suspected swine flu proved negative, they said. Spain's Health Ministry said three people who just returned from Mexico were under observation in hospitals in the northern Basque region, in southeastern Albacete and the Mediterranean port city of Valencia.

3.11pm:

My colleague Paddy Allen has produced an interactive timeline on the spread of swine flu.

3.18pm:

Is it safe to eat pork and pork products?

Yes, according to the latest from the World Health Organisation. It says: "Swine influenza has not been shown to be transmissible to people through eating properly handled and prepared pork (pig meat) or other products derived from pigs. The swine influenza virus is killed by cooking temperatures of 160°F/70°C."

So far the World Health Organisation seems to be sticking closely to its own communication guidelines on disease outbreaks.

It states:



In today's globalized, wired world, information about outbreaks is almost

impossible to keep hidden from the public. Eventually, the outbreak will

be revealed. Therefore, to prevent rumours and misinformation and to

frame the event, it is best to announce as early as possible... Early announcements are often based on incomplete and sometimes

erroneous information. It is critical to publicly acknowledge that early

information may change as further information is developed or

verified.

3.45pm:

Photographs from Mexico capture the sense of panic everywhere from the on the metro system, to meat markets, and even nunneries,

4.07pm:

The US government's CDC has produced guidance on the use of facemasks as protection against a pandemic flu. It says: "Facemasks should be considered for use by individuals who enter crowded settings, both to protect their nose and mouth from other people's coughs and to reduce the wearers' likelihood of coughing on others; the time spent in crowded settings should be as short as possible."

4.23pm:

The Guardian's correspondent in Mexico, Jo Tuckman reports on the sense of "contained terror" in Mexico City and rumours that the death toll is much higher.

The respected disease monitoring service ProMed-media warns:

In the absence of a vaccine that will protect against this novel strain, it is unclear if any measures could have been effectively implemented that would have interrupted transmission earlier. A situation that appears to be a reminder that mother nature is still the most skilled bioterrorist out there.

4.42pm:

No sign yet of the White House briefing, but the World Health Organisation is currently announcing the actions it has been taking.

Speaking from Geneva, its spokesman, said a number of WHO officials will travel to Mexico. "We have asked all countries to increase their surveillance and watchfulness," he said. He repeated that that the WHO needs more information before increasing its pandemic alert level from three to four.

4.49pm:

New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has confirmed that swine flu has infected eight students of a high school in the city.

An official said they have a "mild" strain of the disease. "Cover you mouth when you cough and stay home if you're sick," he advised.

The city is awaiting the tests of additional samples to see if more St. Francis Preparatory School students were infected.

About 100 students complained of flu-like symptoms at the school. Some students went to Cancun on a spring break trip two weeks ago.

4.59pm:

Britain is on "constant alert" over the threat of swine flu health secretary Alan Johnson told the BBC's Politics Show.

Meanwhile, the Press Association reports that passengers were kept back on a plane from Mexico City for 45 minutes today while they were questioned by health officials investigating the outbreak.

According to Sky News two people have been admitted to hospital in Scotland with flu-like symptoms after a trip to Mexico. Deputy first minister and health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said there was no risk to public health.

5.33pm:

A White House news conference on the US response to swine flu has started.

The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Richard Besser, said there are 20 cases in the US including 8 in New York City, 1 in Ohio, 2 in Kansas, and 7 in California.

He said he expects more cases over the coming days. "This is moving fast, but we view this more as a marathon," he said.

5.45pm:

"Frequent handwashing is important... if you are sick stay at home and don't get on a aeroplane or public transport," Besser said.

"If need be, we will increase the [travel] warnings to Mexico," he added.

5.50pm:

Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary, said there would be daily White House press briefings on the "emergency". On anti-viral drugs she said the US had a stockpile 50 million treatments, 25% of those are going to be released.

"You cannot get the swine flu from eating pork," she said.

Individual arrivals to the US from risk areas will be screened, Napolitano said. Those with symptoms will be isolated, she said.

5.55pm:

In response to questions Besser said: "There is one thing in our favour we are nearing the end of the flu season." He said there had been only one documented case of person to person transmission of the disease in the US.

That's it for the blog for now, thanks for your comments.