MEXICO CITY AND LOS ANGELES — International officials Saturday declared the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the U.S. a "public health emergency" as new cases were reported on both sides of the border and fears grew of a possible global epidemic.
The Mexican government indicated that the outbreak was more severe than originally acknowledged, announcing that more than 1,300 people are believed to have been infected. The virus, which the World Health Organization's top official said had "pandemic potential," is now suspected in the deaths of 81 Mexicans, Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said.
Also Saturday, the Mexican government gave itself extraordinary powers to quarantine and forcibly treat infected people and to search homes and intercept suspected flu sufferers on public transport.
The emergency decree follows measures that have included the closing of schools in the worst-affected areas until May 6, and the temporary shutdown of museums, clubs and theaters in Mexico City. Hundreds of concerts, private parties and other events were canceled as federal and local officials urged people to avoid large gatherings.
In the United States, a new swine flu case was discovered Saturday in California and two in Kansas, bringing to 11 the number of confirmed incidents of the disease north of the border. All patients have recovered. Eight schoolchildren in New York City are suspected to have a form of swine flu.
At the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Dr. Anne Schuchat said the agency expected more cases and that containment was "not feasible."
"Having found the virus where we have found it, we are likely to find it in many more places," Schuchat told reporters in a telephone news conference. "It is clear that this is widespread, which is why we do not think we can contain spread of this virus."
Many in Mexico City took heed of the health warnings. A city of 20 million people can't ever really be a ghost town. But on a warm, sunny Saturday, only a fraction of the crowds that normally converge on this metropolis' parks and plazas were out and about.
People either stayed home, limited their weekend wanderings or wore masks in hopes they would be protected.
"Maybe it does some good," said Yolanda Flores, 40, a vendor who was arranging embroidered blouses at a stand in downtown Mexico City. She spoke through a loose blue paper mask, one of thousands distributed free by soldiers at metro stations and in the massive central Zocalo, or square.
