Acting Thai ambassador to Mexico Phanwadee Charoenchai said in a TV interview on Thursday morning that the 105 Thais who reported themselves to the Thai embassy, are in good health so far.

The Thais reported themselves to the embassy on Sunday and Monday following the outbreak of the swine flu, which has taken the death toll of about 160 people in Mexico.

The embassy has contacted them and they all said they were healthy, Phanwadee said, adding most of the Thais in Mexico run their restaurants or work in Thai restaurants.

She said the embassy would distribute facemasks to the Thais when the mask arrive from the Thai Consular Office in Los Angeles.

She also said that the capital Mexico City had become quieter since the spread of the flu, with the garbage in the streets reducing by more than 70 percent.

The virus, a mix of pig, bird and human genes to which people have limited natural immunity, was initially found in Mexico. Swine flu has symptoms nearly identical to regular flu -- fever, cough and sore throat -- and spreads like regular flu, through tiny particles in the air, when people cough or sneeze. People with flu symptoms are advised to stay at home, wash their hands and cover their sneezes.

In addition to about 160 deaths, the virus is believed to have sickened 2,498 people across Mexico.

The first human-to-human infection in Europe has been confirmed when a Spanish man caught the flu after his girlfriend brought the virus back with her from a holiday in Mexico. The disease has now reached at least nine countries in four continents.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2009)