Czech Republic bracing for possible swine flu epidemic

The Czech health authorities are bracing for a possible epidemic of swine flu in the country, after the World Health Organization declared a swine flu pandemic on Thursday. So far only four cases of swine flu have been confirmed, all of them a mild form of the disease that did not require hospitalization. At present there are no plans to restrict travel, although people have been warned to cancel all non-essential trips to high-risk destinations. As EU president, the Czech Republic is cooperating closely with the World Health Organization in planning, coordinating and facilitating measures to contain and mitigate the effects of the disease on a global scale.