Flu pandemic concern grows with more U.S. cases
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By Adriana Barrera and Stephanie Nebehay
Sat Apr 25, 2009 5:54pm
MEXICO CITY/GENEVA (Reuters) - A new flu that has killed up to 68 people in Mexico could start a global epidemic, the World Health Organization warned on Saturday, as tests showed the strain might be spreading in the United States.
Mexico's crowded capital, where most of the deaths happened and home to some 20 million people, hunkered down in fear of the swine flu.
Tests confirmed that eight New York City schoolchildren had a type A influenza virus that was likely to be the swine flu, the city's health commissioner said. Kansas state health officials confirmed two cases of swine flu, CNN reported, adding to the original eight cases in the United States.
Officials from WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention helped Mexican health experts test hundreds of patients with flu symptoms for the never-before-seen virus.
In Mexico City, parents canceled kids' parties, bars were closed and residents stocked up on DVDs as people stayed home for the weekend to avoid contamination.
"I think it's worse than they're telling us," said 35-year-old Lidia Diaz, sniffling and wearing a surgical mask as she headed to a clinic in the capital.
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