Experts to brief WHO on swine flu crisis today

Experts from across the globe will convene today as the World Health Organization seeks to stem the tide of a transcontinental swine flu outbreak, the body has announced.

Experts from across the globe will convene on Wednesday as the World Health Organization seeks to stem the tide of a transcontinental swine flu outbreak, the body has announced.

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"WHO is convening a Scientific Review on 29 April in response to requests from the scientific community for more detailed scientific information on swine influenza," said a statement posted on its website late on Tuesday.

"Experts from the affected countries will provide an update on the current situation and discuss what is known about the disease from a virological, epidemiological and clinical perspective."

Airlines and tour operators suspended flights to Mexico on Tuesday as worldwide fears over a new deadly strain of flu tilted towards panic, with new confirmed cases popping up in various countries.

The United States warned it may see its first fatalities from the virus, which thus far has proved fatal only in Mexico, the epicentre, where more than 150 people are believed to have died from the flu.