Page last updated at 11:38 GMT, Wednesday, 29 April 2009 12:38 UK

India on high alert for swine flu

Women outside the Aurelio Valdivieso Hospital
The virus was first found in Mexico

India has increased surveillance at international airports and ports as part of global measures to check the spread of swine flu.

Passengers arriving on flights from the US, Canada and Mexico are being checked for the virus, health officials say.

In Goa, officials are trying to track down British tourists who arrived there after the deadly outbreak.

The virus is thought to have killed nearly 160 people in Mexico, where it was first found.

The number of swine flu cases globally is rising and the US has confirmed that the death of a 23-month-old child there is the first fatality outside Mexico.


It can also spread from person to person - probably through coughing and sneezing.

As a potential pandemic edges closer, governments around the world have been stepping up precautions against its spread.

Officials in India have also decided to increase the country's reserves of the antiviral drug Tamiflu.

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