Swine flu update: Alert expands to Australia, New Zealand along with Switzerland and France. Cases confirmed in Spain and UK

The number of persons infected with the swine flu virus increased to three, after the United Kingdom also confirmed the existence of two cases. The number of suspected infections in Spain increased to 20. The Columbian government declared a national disaster status because of the epidemic. At the same time, the World Health Organization increased from 3 to 4, on a scale of 6, the alert level for the swine flu outburst, the new degree representing a „significant increase of the risk for a pandemic”. In Mexico, the probable toll of deaths caused by the virus increased from 149 last night to 152 this morning.