World alert as 103 die of swine flu
The number of suspected swine flu cases in Mexico has risen to 1,614 - a total that includes 103 deaths.
Mexico's health secretary Jose Angel Cordova said authorities are still trying to confirm how many were caused by the new virus strain.
The strain has since shown up in as many as seven other countries and has caused the US to declare a health emergency.
Canada became the third country to confirm human cases of swine flu as global health officials considered whether to raise the global pandemic alert level.
Nations from New Zealand to Spain also reported suspected cases, and some warned citizens against travel to North America while others planned quarantines, tightened rules on pork imports and tested airline passengers for fevers.
The six Canadian cases in Nova Scotia and British Columbia all had links to people who had travelled to Mexico, and all are the same swine flu strain.
Meanwhile, in New York City cleaning crews spent the day scrubbing down every desk, chair and classroom at a high school where eight students were confirmed as having been infected after spending a week in Cancun for spring break. All of the cases were mild.
Swine flu has been confirmed in at least 20 people in the US, with other cases in Kansas, California, Texas and Ohio. Many of the victims had recently visited Mexico.
The World Health Organisation's emergency committee is set to meet for a second time on Tuesday to examine the spread of the virus before deciding whether to increase the alert for a possible pandemic, or global epidemic.
The European Commission is calling for an emergency meeting of Europe's health ministers "as soon as possible" to consider how to protect against the spread of the swine flu virus. "We will be asking in the course of the day for an extraordinary meeting to be convened to consider the situation," said a spokeswoman for EU Health Commissioner Androula Vassiliou.
