WORLD> Worldwide Impact
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WORLD> Worldwide Impact
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Flu spreads in US, Asia pledges common fight
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-08 17:33 According to a draft statement on Friday, the Asian health ministers were concerned that most of the production capacity for vaccines was located in North America and Europe and it was inadequate for a global pandemic. The 13 countries will look at screening people leaving affected areas but are not planning travel bans. Evidence showed that "imposing travel restrictions would have very little effect on stopping the virus from spreading, but would be highly disruptive to the global and regional communities and pose major negative impacts on the current global economic downturn," the statement said. In a series of reports rushed into the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday, researchers said influenza viruses from animals are an ongoing threat and doctors need to keep a lookout for them. MYSTIFYING GENES So far the genetic analysis gives no clue about where the new virus came from, the researchers told a news conference. The European genes were especially mystifying. "Those genes had never been seen in the United States before," the CDC's Dr Michael Shaw said. In Mexico, millions of high school and university students returned to classes as the country got back on its feet after shutting public places last week to avoid the spread of the disease. But visitors to government-run buildings were asked to wear surgical masks and wash their hands with antibacterial soap before entering. Restaurants also sanitized diners' hands as they arrived. The US pork industry got some good news after being battered by import bans by nearly two-dozen countries. US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the government "get this turned around." Russia, the fourth-largest export market for US pork, signaled it may lift bans placed on pork by June 1, a spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative said.
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