墨西哥流感疫情近日有所缓解，之前实行公共活动禁令的学校、酒吧、影院等公共场所于本周四重新开放。但是卫生部门官员表示，现在还不是欢呼胜利的时候，疫情还需进一步控制。到目前为止，墨西哥已有1160人感染流感病毒，其中44人死亡。墨西哥境外感染流感病毒死亡的有2人，且均在美国；全世界有23个国家的2099人感染该病毒。世界卫生组织官员发出警告，表示此次甲型H1N1病毒有可能会在今年下半年随着北半球流感季节的到来而更加肆虐。

Mexico's schools, bars and cinemas reopened under strict health controls Thursday after the swine flu crisis eased, but world health chiefs warned they had still to get a handle on the epidemic¹.

High schools and universities reopened in Mexico, the day after offices and restaurants were cleared to restart business after a five-day enforced closure in a bid to contain the outbreak.

"Fortunately, we've managed to stop the dangerous expansion the virus could have had," President Felipe Calderon said during a hospital visit.

However, he added, "it's not time to shout victory," warning there would be more cases.

Hours later, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova announced two more dead and 90 more cases, bringing the total to 44 dead among the 1,160 infected. But the number of cases was on the wane², having peaked last week, he added.

Only two other deaths have been recorded outside Mexico -- both in the United States.

But Keiji Fukuda, acting³ director-general of the UN's World Health Organisation⁴, warned the A(H1N1) virus could become more virulent⁵ later in the year with the onset⁶ of the northern hemisphere's flu season.

"It is critical for countries to maintain their alertness and monitoring so this evolution can be followed as closely as possible," he said in a video conference in Bangkok.

"We don't believe we have fully⁷ got a handle on the severity of the phenomenon."

The latest WHO figures show 2,099 cases of influenza⁸ A(H1N1) infections have been reported by 23 countries.

"Complacency is the greatest danger," said Fukuda. "It does appear to be a period where the virus maybe seeding itself in various parts of the world.

"What we are seeing now is milder than in 1918 (when up to 50 million people died of the Spanish influenza pandemic). But 1918 started mild in springtime and became more severe in winter."

The emergence⁹ of the virus, a new strain that has combined human, swine and bird influenza, set off fears of a worldwide pandemic, even though the death toll¹⁰ has been relatively¹¹ low.

Countries have imposed a range of measures to prevent a global outbreak, especially hitting the tourism and travel industries.

Restrictions¹² have also been placed on meat imports, not only in Mexico but also Canada and the United States.

Scientists meanwhile stressed the importance of preventing the new swine flu virus from infecting patients already sick with the deadly H5N1 avian flu, particularly in Asia.

"If both viruses wind up in the same individual, they could mix genes¹³ and mutate into a form that is both very pathogenic and easily transmitted among humans," John Oxford¹⁴, a virologist at London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, told AFP.

Pierre Duplessis, Special Envoy¹⁵ for pandemic influenza at the International Federation¹⁶ of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, agreed.

"The danger of a genetic¹⁷ recombination is real, in animals and in humans -- this is something we fear," he said.