Caterpillar restricts employee travel to Mexico because of swine flu

July 31st, 2009 Caterpillar to close South African plantPEORIA, Ill. — Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc.

May 7th, 2009 LONDON - Talk show host Oprah Winfrey has reportedly scrapped a low-key trip to India over fears about the swine flu epidemic. The media queen planned to fly to Goa May 5 and meet up with Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat.

May 1st, 2009 LUXEMBOURG - Health ministers from 27 European Union (EU) nations have failed to reach an agreement on a French call to temporarily ban all EU flights to Mexico in view of the deadly swine flu outbreak in that country. They however stressed on a coordinated approach to fight the swine flu.

May 1st, 2009 LONDON - An official who took part in the US President Barak Obama's recent trip to Mexico is believed to have caught swine flu and passed it on to his family, a media report said. The unnamed man, a Department of Energy employee, 'came down with flu-like symptoms', the Telegraph reported Thursday citing White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

April 30th, 2009 World Bank: DC employee likely has swine fluWASHINGTON — Some employees of the World Bank in Washington are being asked to work from home after one of their colleagues was preliminarily diagnosed with swine flu. The bank said Thursday that the man is believed to have been exposed to the illness while traveling in Mexico for business from April 13 to 18.

April 30th, 2009 LUXEMBOURG - The European Union is not planning to ban travel to Mexico because of the outbreak of swine flu there, diplomatic sources said Thursday at an emergency meeting of EU health ministers in Luxembourg. Individual member states have the right to bring in travel restrictions if they think this will help prevent the disease spreading, but the EU as a whole is not going to bring in a ban, diplomatic sources said.

April 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US health authorities Wednesday reported the first death from swine flu, the first such fatality outside Mexico. The Atlanta, Georgia-based center for disease control CDC said a 23-month-old baby had died in the southwestern US state of Texas, which borders Mexico.

April 28th, 2009 MEXICO CITY - Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos said late Monday that the number of people dying from an infection with the mutated swine flu virus rose slower than expected. Six people died on Saturday, five on Sunday and three Monday, Cordova said.

April 28th, 2009 WHO: Americans may be transmitting swine fluGENEVA — The World Health Organization says it suspects U.S. swine flu patients may have transmitted the virus to others in the United States.

April 28th, 2009 Hugh Jackmam visit to Mexico canceledMEXICO CITY — Even the mighty Wolverine is taking precautions when it comes to swine flu. Film distributor 20th Century Fox says it has canceled actor Hugh Jackman's scheduled appearance in Mexico City to promote "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." The U.S.

April 28th, 2009 Hugh Jackman's visit to Mexico canceledMEXICO CITY — Even the mighty Wolverine is taking precautions when it comes to swine flu. Film distributor 20th Century Fox says it has canceled actor Hugh Jackman's scheduled appearance in Mexico City to promote "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." The U.S.

April 28th, 2009 Hugh Jackman visit to Mexico canceledMEXICO CITY — Even the mighty Wolverine is taking precautions when it comes to swine flu. Film distributor 20th Century Fox says it has canceled actor Hugh Jackman's scheduled appearance in Mexico City to promote "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." The U.S.

April 27th, 2009 NEW YORK - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here Monday the outbreak of swine flu 'has become one of the most serious concerns of the international community', and called for 'global solidarity' to fight the epidemic. Ban, in a statement he read out to the press, said: 'We are concerned that this (swine flu) virus would cause a new influenza pandemic.' 'If we are indeed facing a pandemic, we need to demonstrate global solidarity,' Ban said.

April 25th, 2009 Obama health fine after trip to MexicoWASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama's health is fine a little more than a week after he traveled to Mexico, where an outbreak of swine flu has killed at least 68 people and sickened more than 1,000. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Saturday that "the President’s trip to Mexico has not put his health in any danger." The top international health official says the new swine flu strain that has hit Mexico has "pandemic potential." Obama was in Mexico last week to meet with top government officials and talk about the growing problem with drug smuggling and border violence.

April 25th, 2009 WHO chief to oversee handling of swine flu crisisGENEVA — The head of the World Health Organization arrived in Geneva on Saturday to oversee the agency's handling of the swine flu outbreak that is believed to have killed dozens of people in Mexico. Margaret Chan broke off a visit to Washington to return to WHO's Strategic Health Operation Center in Switzerland, where she was being briefed before an emergency committee meeting later Saturday to consider whether to raise the pandemic alert level or issue travel advisories, spokesman Gregory Hartl said.