The European Union on Monday called for urgent talks to confront the threat posed by swine flu as Europe's first case emerged in Spain.
The 27-nation EU warned against non-essential travel to areas where the virus, emanating from Mexico, has surfaced, while Russia began airport checks and Poland tightened border controls to try to hold the disease at bay.
Tour groups too began cancelling trips to Mexico.
The EU's Czech presidency summoned health ministers to an urgent meeting, most likely on Thursday, saying "it considers it necessary to evaluate the potential danger and all possible steps forward".
"The presidency considers it of paramount importance to coordinate EU's response to the outbreak," a statement said.
World health officials have stepped up the battle against swine flu after Mexico upped the probable death toll from the epidemic to 103 and the United States declared a public emergency.
The number of cases under observation in Mexico was more than 1,600.
In Spain, the health ministry said Monday that a 23-year-old man who returned from there last week had been confirmed to have contracted the disease, with 20 more under observation.
In Luxembourg, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and other colleagues called for calm, saying there was no need for panic in Europe.
"Let's wait until the authorities and those that really know have their evaluation of the situation," he told reporters on the sidelines of an EU meeting EU foreign ministers.
"I don't think we should have undue worries until we know what's happening."
Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb said: "Any time you hit a big epidemic you have to have your worries."
"When you see an epidemic moving as fast as this one you are going to have to do something," he said. "This is where coordinated European efforts seem to work quite well."
EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou warned citizens to avoid travelling to areas where a health threat is posed by swine flu.
"I would try to avoid non-essential travel to the areas which are reported to be in the centre of the cluster," she said in a video statement.
She said the precaution was necessary "in order to minimise the personal risk and to reduce of the potential risk to spread the infection to other people."
A spokeswoman for Vassiliou later said that the commission was not advising against travel to Spain.
Two patients in Scotland were also under observation following visits to Mexico, but four people tested for swine flu in France after recently returning from the Americas were given the all-clear by doctors, Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said Monday.
European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said European authorities would remain vigilant.
"We will continue to assess the information we are getting from the experts, evaluate the potential danger and decide together with member states on the measures to take," he said.
Germany's leading tourism group, TUI, cancelled Mexico City visits until May 5 owing to the outbreak, and said it would offer alternatives to clients who had planned to travel to other parts of Mexico.
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Health-flu-Europe
AFP 271114 GMT 04 09
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