By Martin Banks - 27th April 2009
We are following very closely the situation as it evolves
European commission
Spain's health ministry has confirmed the country's first case of swine flu, and said another 20 people are suspected of having the disease.
It is the first confirmed swine flu case in Europe and the first outside of north America.
So far, the outbreak of swine flu has killed up to 81 people in Mexico and infected others in the United States.
On Sunday – before the Spanish case was confirmed – the commission issued a statement saying, "Until now we have no reported cases in Europe. We are following very closely the situation as it evolves.
"Constant contacts with the European Center for Disease Control, the U.S., Mexico, WHO (World Health Organization) and member states are ongoing, and we are evaluating the information we have already."
The head of the WHO has called for greater worldwide surveillance for any unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness after her organization declared the Mexican flu outbreak as a "public health event of international concern".
The new flu strain, a mixture of various swine, bird and human viruses, poses the biggest risk of a large-scale pandemic since avian flu surfaced in 1997, killing several hundred people.
Tests on a British Airways cabin crew member who was taken to a London hospital suffering flu-like symptoms have shown he does not have swine flu.
A French Health Ministry spokeswoman said there were two unconfirmed cases but declined to give further details. Health minister Roselyne Bachelot was due to hold the first of a series of daily news conferences on swine flu on Sunday afternoon.
"We have identified two suspect cases, two people who were returning from Mexico and who had fever and who are currently being investigated," French public health director Didier Houssin told RTL radio.
"In the coming days or weeks we will necessarily be confronted with increasing numbers of people returning from that region about whom we will have suspicions."
New flu strains can spread quickly because no one has natural immunity to them and a vaccine takes months to develop.
The outbreak is sure to be high on the agenda of health ministers, who will meet in Geneva for nine days from 18 May for the annual congress of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO.
Taiwan, which has been trying to gain more involvement in the WHO for over 10 years, says the latest scare highlights the need for it to be included in the global health network.
A source at the Taipei Representation Office in Brussels said, "This shows exactly what we have been saying for months, that there is an urgent need for Taiwan to be included in the mechanisms of the WHO.
"At present, we are unable to receive important technical information from the WHO on outbreaks such as this. It has to come via China.
"This is unacceptable, not least because by the time the information reaches us it is often too late."
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