Egypt was the latest country to warn vulnerable Muslims not to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, after a woman returning from Saudi Arabia became the first Egyptian to die from the A(H1N1) virus.

The United Nations also raised the prospect that the pandemic could hit countries undermined by poverty, conflicts or famine and trigger a "major" new crisis in those areas.

The WHO has warned that the pandemic is now unstoppable and its rapid spread since breaking out four months ago was highlighted when agency spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi told journalists the toll was now "over 700 deaths."

The previous toll published by the WHO on July 6 was 429.

"School closure is one of the mitigation measures that could be considered by countries," Bhatiasevi told journalists.

"Different countries would be facing the pandemic at different levels at different times, so it is really up to countries to consider what mitigation measures would suit them."

Her comments came after a study in The Lancet medical journal said keeping schoolchildren at home could in some circumstances be effective against the spread of swine flu.

"In an optimistic scenario, closure of schools during a pandemic might have some effect on the total number of cases (maybe a 15 percent reduction) but cause larger reductions (around 40 percent) in peak attack rates," it said.

"However, this reduction will be substantially undermined if children are not sufficiently isolated or if the policy is not well implemented."

It added that "the H1N1 pandemic could become more severe, and so the current cautious approach of not necessarily recommending school closure in Europe and North America might need reappraisal in the autumn."

The government of Scotland in Edinburgh said Tuesday that a 15-year-old schoolgirl admitted to hospital last week in Glasgow with underlying medical conditions had become the latest victim of the virus.

But Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer for England, reacted cooly to the WHO spokeswoman's suggestion, noting that it had not worked when tried south of the border.

Collated figures show that Britain is Europe's worst affected territory -- with the Glasgow death marking its 30th.

However, Donaldson told GMTV: "I think it would take a lot for us to move in that direction.

"It would be extremely disruptive to society. When would you open (the schools) again, given that flu might be around for several months?"

With upwards of two million people expected in Saudi Arabia over the next five months on pilgrimages to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, Egypt advised vulnerable Muslims to stay home.

The health ministry "has warned the elderly, pregnant women, children and those suffering from chronic illness not to perform the hajj or omra pilgrimages," the official MENA news agency reported.

The warning came ahead of a meeting of Arab health ministers in Cairo on Wednesday to coordinate precautions to be taken during the pilgrimage season.

Separately, eight Kuwaitis have tested positive on their return from a pilgrimage to Mecca and have been admitted to hospital, the Kuwaiti health ministry announced.

Addressing the difficulties faced by poor countries, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes warned that many people already in need of aid were "crowded into camp situations and therefore particularly vulnerable."

He added that the "wider concern" was that the virus could spread into conflict-torn or impoverished countries and affect them more severely than other areas.

"Then we would have a major new humanitarian crisis on our hands," he said.

earlier related report
Stay away from Mecca over swine flu, Muslim pilgrims warned
Egypt has become the latest country to warn vulnerable Muslims against pilgrimage to Mecca, after an Egyptian woman back from Saudi Arabia became the first swine flu death in the Middle East and Africa.

Egypt's health ministry "has warned the elderly, pregnant women, children and those suffering from chronic illness not to perform the hajj or omra pilgrimages," the official MENA news agency reported late Monday.

As well as the annual hajj, which all Muslims are required to make once in a lifetime if they have the means, the faithful can also make a lesser pilgrimage to the holy places, known as omra, at any time of the year.

Upwards of two million people are expected in Saudi Arabia over the next five months on pilgrimages to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in the west of the kingdom.

The ministry "has asked them to delay taking part so that they are not exposed to the risks... of swine flu," MENA quoted health ministry official Amr Qandil as saying.

The warning came ahead of a meeting of Arab health ministers in Cairo on Wednesday to coordinate arrangements and precautions to be taken during the pilgrimage season.

Egypt on Sunday reported its first death linked to swine flu after a 25-year-old woman returning from a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia died in hospital.

Egypt's top cleric or mufti, Sheikh Ali Gomaa, has said he would be guided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other medical authorities on whether to issue a fatwa or decree barring all Egyptians from making the pilgrimage.

Egyptian health officials have said all returning pilgrims will be quarantined.

In Iran, a health ministry official on Tuesday repeated calls for elderly Iranians and children to avoid travelling to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage as the number of confirmed swine flu cases in the Islamic republic rose to 16.

"Twelve among them are omra pilgrims," Mahmoud Soroush, head of the ministry's flu and border prevention programmes, told state news agency IRNA.

Saudi Arabia in June warned elderly Muslims and pregnant women against undertaking the hajj because of the threat of swine flu. Oman issued a similar warning on July 6.

Tunisia earlier this month suspended omra pilgrimages because of the virus, while reserving judgement on whether the main hajj pilgrimage should be undertaken in November.

Peak numbers make the omra pilgrimage during the holy month of Ramadan, which this year is due to begin in late August.

Saudi Arabia has pre-ordered millions of doses of vaccines for the rapidly spreading H1NI flu so that, if ready, they can be administered around the kingdom ahead of the massive November-December global pilgrimage to Mecca.

The WHO says the virus is moving around the globe at "unprecedented speed," with more than 700 people killed since the outbreak began some four months ago.

The organisation will no longer keep a global tally of flu cases, instead tracking the pandemic through newly-affected territories, it has said.

The virus was first identified in Mexico in April and the vast majority of the deaths have been recorded in the Americas.

Between 250,000 to 500,000 people around the world die of regular seasonal flu every year, according to the WHO.

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