Health officials from 43 countries gathered in Mexico Thursday for a two-day meeting to discuss measures to confront the A/H1N1 flu that is sweeping across the world.

Margaret Chan (R), Director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), talks with Mexico's President Flipe Calderon during the opening ceremony of an international WHO meeting in Cancun, Mexico, July 2, 2009. Mexico started hosting a two-day international meeting on Influenza A/H1N1 on Thursday. [Xinhua Photo]

"I hope this meeting will help us take major steps forward towards building new collective defenses against a menace that affects us all," Margaret Chan, the World Health Organization (WHO) director-general, told the opening session in Cancun, a beach resort town in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.

She acknowledged the measures taken by Mexico to deal with the disease, saying that the situation in the country is currently stable.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said at the summit that international cooperation is needed to jointly tackle the disease that has posed a new challenge to the world.

"No government can win this battle alone," he said.

Calderon thanked foreign officials for their attendance, which he described as "a gesture of friendship and solidarity" to a nation, which has seen 116 deaths of the disease since it was first detected in April.

Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu (3rd L) speaks during an international meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Cancun, Mexico, July 2, 2009. Mexico started hosting a two-day international meeting on Influenza A/H1N1 on Thursday.[Xinhua Photo]

Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said at the meeting that a series of comprehensive measures have been taken by China to tackle the disease, including strict border inspection and quarantine, enhanced surveillance and vigorous medical treatment.

So far, 1,518 cases of the A/H1N1 flu have been confirmed in China.

The measures have helped slow down the spread and prevalence of the disease, but it is still hard to predict such factors as the speed and direction of the mutation of the virus, Chen said.

The meeting brought together delegates and ministers from 43 nations to share experiences in fighting the disease, evaluate the current situation, exchange information and discuss measures to confront the pandemic.

According to the latest data available from the WHO on Wednesday, the A/H1N1 flu has infected 77,201 people in 116 countries and regions, and has killed 332 people.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2009)