UN set for swine flu crisis talksUN health officials have called an emergency meeting to discuss swine flu, amid rumours that the first global flu pandemic in 40 years will be declared.
The World Health Organization announced the meeting after a steep rise in the number of cases in Australia.
WHO chiefs spoke to ministers in the worst-hit countries on Wednesday to get "undisputable" evidence of its spread.
A disease is classed as a pandemic when transmission between humans becomes widespread in two regions of the world.
Analysts say calling the H1N1 strain a pandemic will make little difference to the handling of the outbreak.
But the move may speed up the production of vaccines and prompt national governments to impose measures such as travel bans.
Evolving situation
The virus emerged in Mexico in April and since then thousands of cases have been confirmed throughout North and South America.
The virus has spread to 74 countries but the WHO has resisted labelling the outbreak a full-blown pandemic.
WHO chief Margaret Chan talked to officials from eight countries with large flu outbreaks on Wednesday in an attempt to confirm the spread of the disease.
She has said she believes the situation can be regarded as a pandemic but says she wants clear evidence before making an announcement.
The WHO's move follows Australia's confirmation of more than 1,200 cases - a four-fold increase in a week.
The head of the WHO's global influenza programme, Keiji Fukuda, said the situation had "evolved a lot" in recent days.
"We are getting close to knowing that we are in a pandemic situation," he said.
Although most sufferers experience regular flu symptoms and make a full recovery, the WHO has confirmed 141 deaths from 27,737 cases.
The BBC's health correspondent, Jane Dreaper, says classifying the virus as a pandemic does not mean that the virus has suddenly become more deadly.
But it does send a clear signal to health officials and businesses to continue planning for the possibility of large numbers of people catching the virus, she says.
The WHO's emergency committee is due to meet in Geneva at 1000 GMT.
The last global pandemic was declared in 1968 over the Hong Kong flu.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8094353.stm
