The World Health Organisation (WHO) called a meeting of top world scientists on Friday to assess the swine flu outbreak that has killed 125 and infected about 22 000 people.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan will convene the expert panel for a telephone conference from 2pm to 3pm, a spokesperson said.
It is the same group that told the agency to twice raise its alert level last month as the virus spread to more than 60 countries.
But WHO spokesperson Fadela Chaib said the meeting is ”not an indication that we are going to phase 6”, meaning the world would be facing a global epidemic.
Chaib said Chan would use the meeting to share the latest information she has with the experts from top national and independent laboratories.
Chan will also discuss the danger of the virus, addressing the issue of severity that countries have urged WHO to consider before pronouncing the outbreak a pandemic.
Most of the 21 940 cases reported so far have been mild. Most deaths were in Mexico, many before the virus had been identified.
Chile became the first South American country to report a death from swine flu, WHO said on Friday.
Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia and Barbados are the latest nations to report cases of the disease, taking the number of countries with confirmed cases to 69.
More than half of all cases worldwide have been reported in the United States. — Sapa-AP