The threat spreads

MEXICO: A new type of swine flu is threatening the health and lives of people on a number of the world’s continents. The most deaths have been reported in Mexico, where the illness is also having a severe effect on the economy.

Hundreds of church services and public events such as football matches have been cancelled, and President Felipe Calderón ordered that schools be closed for at least a week. Some workplaces may also close to prevent the spread of the disease.

Shoppers, movie-goers and diners are staying home. This hits consumer spending, which is responsible for 50 per cent of the total demand for goods and services in the country.

Hundreds of church services and public events such as football matches have been cancelled.

The outbreak comes at a time when the country's exports are already suffering because of the US recession, and now Russia has banned meat imports from Mexico. Tourism, Mexico's third most important source of foreign income, is plummeting.

As investors worry about the weakening economy, the value of the peso is falling. “There will be a drop in consumption and tourism and that affects the currency,” Gerardo Margolis of TD Securities in Toronto told Bloomberg news service.