Singapore to lower H1N1 flu alert level

Special Report: World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu 

SINGAPORE, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Singapore will lower its alert level for
Influenza A/H1N1 from "orange" to "yellow," the country's Health Minister said
on Wednesday.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan told a news conference that the downgrading
will be done progressively over the next five days, but adding that Singapore
will remain vigilant and act nimbly, according to TV broadcaster Channel
NewsAsia.

The Health Minister said that precautionary measures such as temperature
screening at border checkpoints and hospitals will continue, but the one visitor
per patient rule at hospitals will be lifted.

Health Minister: Bulgaria not able to identify swine flu

SOFIA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian Health Minister Evgeni Zhelev has said that Bulgaria has no capacity to identify swine flu if it spreads to the country, local press reported on Tuesday.

Zhelev said that no such tests have been developed because this has not been necessary so far.

He pointed out that any people suspected to have the virus will be quarantined and samples from patients will be sent to the World Health Organization (WHO), which will conduct the tests and send back the results.

There is enough anti-flu medicines stockpiled in Bulgaria to deal with a serious epidemic, Zhelev stressed, adding that all the hospitals and medical centers have been given strict instructions of what to do in the case of a possible swine flu outbreak.

"Local GPs will also be notified regarding the symptoms to lookout for and all hospitals in Bulgaria have been put on red alert," Zhelev said.

"At this stage, we have no reasons to speak about pandemic, the situation should not be dramatized and panic should not be spread," Zhelev said. He added that in Europe there are just a few cases of virus infections and seven patients who may have contracted the disease.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday advised Bulgarian citizens against traveling to Mexico unless they have urgent reasons to do so. 

Italy ready to tackle swine flu: minister

Special Report: World Tackles Swine Flu

ROME, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Italy is ready to tackle possible outbreak of
swine flu in the country, Italian Welfare Minister Maurizio Sacconi said on
Tuesday.

"The situation is under control in regard to any evolution. Italy is well
prepared also because of its high standard of hygiene, which is a fundamental
requisite to block the spread of the virus," Sacconi said.

There have been no confirmed cases of the disease in Italy. The only
possible suspected case, proved negative in initial tests, is expected to be
confirmed on Tuesday by Padua University, which hosts the top-level center for
diseases prevention and control in the country.

The flu has killed 152 people in Mexico and has spread to other countries.
There are 51 confirmed cases in the United States and six cases in Canada.

Spain reported on Monday the first confirmed case in Europe and other 26
suspected cases. Two cases were later confirmed in Scotland.

So far, there are five suspected cases in Sweden, three in Germany, four in
France and one in Norway.

No swine flu case in Poland: minister

Special Report: World Tackles Swine Flu

WARSAW, April 28 (Xinhua) -- No case of swine flu has been reported in Poland, Health Minister Ewa Kopacz said Tuesday.

A woman hospitalized in Zielona Gora in western Poland after returning from Mexico early this month with flu symptoms has not been infected with the H1N1 virus, Kopacz was quoted by Polish news agency PAP as saying.

Swine flu has killed 149 people in Mexico. The first confirmed case of the disease in Europe was reported in Spain on Monday.

Swine flu is a respiratory disease that infects pigs and does not normally infect humans. But sporadic cases have happened, usually among people who had close contact with pigs.

On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its global alert level from Phase 3 to Phase 4, signaling the swine flu virus was spreading from human to human in community outbreaks, but it did not declare a full-blown pandemic.