EU health ministers meeting in Luxembourg have rejected a French idea to ban flights to Mexico, saying it would not stem the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. Instead, they agreed on coordinated action, especially to develop a vaccine as quickly as possible.

At an emergency meeting on Thursday, the ministers discussed the French proposal to stop people from travelling to countries affected with the H1N1 virus.

They said a travel ban to Mexico is not necessary but insist they must coordinate their response, share information, and develop a vaccine together.

Lorette Onkelinx, Belgian Health Minister, said, "What we will do is better coordinate information amongst ourselves which means finding out about cases in member states but also to find out the profile of the patients which is important information. We will also ask more precise information on transmission and more specifically, relating to travel precautions. Piloting the vaccine, at the European level, once we discover it, and finally a coordination platform with regards to anti-virals."

EU officials said they are well prepared to deal with the H1N1 flu virus, and there is no need to panic.

Denmark has already bought extra doses of anti-viral drugs and will distribute them to other states, should they need them.

Some countries, like Spain, have stopped pharmacies from selling anti-virals to ensure they have enough stock to cope with an outbreak of the virus.

(CCTV.com May 1, 2009)