Monday, May 4 02:58 pm

Portugal has reported its first case of swine flu and Italy confirms two more as Mexico says it is winning the battle against the deadly new strain of the virus. Skip related content

A 30-year-old woman who recently returned to Portugal from Mexico has recovered but is being kept in isolation at her home, said health minister Ana Jorge.

The two new cases in Italy brings the total number of infected patients in the country to four.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged countries to remain vigilant over the outbreak despite the declining epidemic in Mexico.

As new cases are being tracked across the world, the agency warned a pandemic is still possible.

A hike to level 6 would declare a pandemic - a disease spreading rapidly in more than one area - but this would only reflect views on how the virus was spreading, not how bad its effects are.

WHO chief Margaret Chan said: "We do not know how long we will have until we move to level 6," adding, "We are not there yet."

Confirming 1,003 cases of swine flu have been reported in 20 countries, Ms Chan said some earlier pandemics have started mild and had more severe second waves.

But speaking earlier, she said: "Level 6 does not mean, in any way, that we are facing the end of the world.

"It is important to make this clear because (otherwise) when we announce level 6 it will cause an unnecessary panic."

Mexico said it is finally getting the upper hand on the outbreak and is poised to lift a crippling economic shutdown on public venues and activities.

Laboratory tests have shown 590 firm cases of the virus so far in Mexico, of which 22 people are confirmed to have died.

President Felipe Calderon said: "We have been able to hold or at least reduce the rate of propagation of the virus to contain the epidemic."

Meanwhile, China has been forced to defend its tough quarantine measures against Mexican tourists.

Beijing and Hong Kong quickly shifted into crisis management mode on Friday after a Mexican man visiting Asia was confirmed as the region's first swine flu case.

But Mexico has labelled the quarantine measures "discriminatory".

Hong Kong imposed a week-long quarantine on the hotel where the 25-year-old man stayed, trapping 350 guests and employees inside.

Chinese health officials also tracked down and quarantined 128 of the man's fellow passengers.

Mexican ambassador to China, Jorge Guajardo, said Chinese officials rounded up over 70 Mexicans indiscriminately across China including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin.

In one case, a Mexican couple and their three small children were taken from their Beijing hotel room at 4am and transported to a hospital, he said.

None of those in isolation has presented symptoms and most had no contact with infected persons or places, Mr Guajardo added.

"In many cases, we have got reports they were being quarantined for the sole fact they had a Mexican passport, whether or not they came from Mexico, whether or not they had been in Mexico, whether or not they had been in contact with someone else from Mexico," he went on.

President Calderon has expressed dismay that "some countries or places are taking discriminatory measures because of ignorance and misinformation".

Mexican officials said they plan to charter an Aeromexico plane to take home any Mexican citizens who want to leave China.

China's foreign ministry said Mexicans were not being singled out and added it hoped Mexico would "address the issue in an objective and calm manner".

"The relevant measures are not targeted at Mexican citizens, and are not discriminatory. This is purely a question of health inspection and quarantine," it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, South Korea confirmed Asia's second case over the weekend, but said the woman - a nun who had visited Mexico - had already recovered.

Officials have confirmed two new cases of swine flu in France.

Spain raised the number of confirmed swine flu cases to 44 and has 67 people under observation.

New Zealand reported a fifth confirmed case of the virus which mixes swine, avian and human flu strains, along with 12 probable cases.

It comes 10 days after a group of high school students returned from Mexico with the first confirmed cases of the illness, sparking a nationwide alert.

Earlier, Turkey denied media reports that a patient who died in hospital was a victim of swine flu.

The virus has been confirmed in: Mexico, the US, Canada, Spain, the UK, Germany, New Zealand, Italy, France, Israel, South Korea, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Hong Kong, Denmark and Holland.