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Swine flu outbreak has 'pandemic potential'

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By JOSHUA PARTLOW and ROB STEIN

The Washington Post

Published: April 26, 2009

MEXICO CITY - The World Health Organization rushed to convene an emergency meeting Saturday to develop a response to the "pandemic potential" of a new swine flu virus that has sparked a deadly outbreak in Mexico and spread to disparate parts of the United States.

The president of Mexico, where the outbreak has killed as many as 81 people, issued an order granting his government broad powers to isolate patients and question travelers.

"In the assessment of the WHO, this is a serious situation that must be watched very carefully," said Margaret Chan, director of the World Health Organization, which recommended countries intensify their efforts to identify "unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness and severe pneumonia."

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