Don't panic over the outbreak of the deadly swine flu was the message which ministers sent out to all Malaysians today.

They said that the government was already taking the necessary steps to protect its citizens against the outbreak which started in Mexico and has spread as far as Australia, New Zealand and Israel within days.

muhyiddin yassin Both Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai repeated the same message at separate functions today - that steps were being taken to ensure Malaysians remained safe.

At the same time, Malaysians have been told not to travel to Canada, Mexico and selected US states. So far the swine flu has been reported in New York, California, Texas, Kansas and Ohio in the US. AFP reported that as many as 103 had died of possible swine flu in Mexico.

And as a safeguard, the Health Ministry and the immigration department have tightened all screening processes at all entry points into the country and information blitz is set to be launched to assure the public of the steps being taken.

"The Health Ministry will work closely with other government agencies, including the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry, at all these entry points," Muhyiddin was reported as saying by Bernama in Johor Baru.

He also said that the protocol used by government agencies during the bird flu outbreak would be applied and tightened to prevent any outbreak of swine flu in the country.

liow tiong lai Health Minister Liow meanwhile also urged those who have visited Mexico, Texas and California after April 17 to get in touch with his ministry.

"This is to ensure us to conduct checks on them," he said, adding that his ministry was working closely with the World Health Organisation on halting the outbreak.

"At this point, WHO has yet to raise the international alert level. And when they do so, we will be ready to implement the necessary measures," he said.

Pig farms on alert too

At the same time, the health ministry's disease control division has also activated its operations room to monitor the situation.

Director-General of Health Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said in a statement that medical practitioners who treated people with influenza who had visited Mexico, California or Texas after April 17, should inform the district health office immediately.

In other development, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Noh Omar has ordered all 797 pig farms in the country to report immediately to the authorities any dip in the health of the livestock in view of the swine flu outbreak.

Noh Omar said the pig breeders should watch out for signs of the animals coughing, sneezing, and having difficulty breathing or not wanting to eat.

They should also keep a watch on the health of their workers and detect any sign of coughing, fever and body ache, he said, as reported by Bernama .

He added that rapid action teams had been instructed to be on standby and would be rushed to the states when necessary.

The swine flu virus is said to a combination of avian, human and swine viruses. The symptoms of the swine flu are similar to that of ordinary flu.