April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Swine flu was confirmed in New Zealand and suspected cases were found in four nations in the Asia-Pacific region, where some governments called for pork and travel bans to stem the spread of the virus.

Malaysia asked the World Health Organization to bar people who are ill from leaving Mexico, while South Korea, China, Indonesia and the Philippines banned or restricted imports of pork products from North America. The WHO doesn’t advise travel restrictions as that won’t stop the virus from spreading, and said people can’t get swine flu from eating well-cooked pork.

Some governments in Asia, the region worst affected by previous outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome and avian flu, are overreacting to the threat of swine flu, said John MacKenzie, a virus tracker who led an international team investigating an outbreak of SARS in China in 2003.

Countries demanding travel restrictions are doing so without evidence it would mitigate the spread of the disease, MacKenzie said.

Mexico today revised down the number of confirmed people who died from swine flu to seven from 20, and raised the toll of suspected swine flu-related deaths to 159. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today a 23-month-old baby died of swine flu in the U.S., making it the second country with confirmed deaths from the virus.

Suspected cases of swine flu, which results in symptoms similar to seasonal human influenza, have also been found in Canada, Germany, Israel, Spain and the U.K.

Asia-Pacific Confirmation

New Zealand confirmed 14 cases of swine flu, all in Auckland, up from 11 yesterday. These are the only definite infections in the Asia-Pacific region. A further five cases are suspected, said Julia Peters, regional public health team leader for Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city.

Australia is testing 112 people for swine flu, and authorities are contacting 15 people who were on a plane from Mexico two days ago, Health Minister Nicola Roxon said. The nation also said it will disinfect planes and quarantine people who show symptoms of the disease.

Singapore Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said it was only a “matter of time” before cases of swine flu were confirmed in the city-state.

Health authorities in the Southeast Asian nation said they are waiting for results on three people referred for testing, and a further 14 people have been cleared of having the virus. The ministry raised its alert from green to yellow yesterday, the second-lowest level on a five-color system.

Malaysia’s Request

Malaysia’s government made the request to the WHO in a bid to slow the spread of swine flu.

“We have spoken to WHO officials and asked them to stop those in Mexico leaving the country,” Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said today.

China’s national tourism bureau ordered travel agents to suspend tours to Mexico, and advised Chinese travelers heading to Spain, the U.K., Israel and New Zealand to be more aware of personal hygiene and avoid crowded areas.

Japan said yesterday it will suspend visa-free entry for Mexican nationals and advise its own citizens to defer trips to the Latin American nation.

Taiwan may order state-controlled funds to buy stocks in the market as the outbreak worsens, Finance Minister Lee Sush- der said today.

The island’s government yesterday raised its travel alert for Mexico to red, the highest of three levels, meaning citizens are advised against visiting the country. Taiwan will require passengers to be screened on flights from Canada and the U.S. and report their health status before being allowed to land.

Schools, Quarantine Camps

Hong Kong cleared five of seven people of swine flu after testing them, said Thomas Tsang, the controller at the city’s Centre for Health Protection. Two other people are being tested, he said. The government will require all inbound passengers to complete health status forms starting May 1, he said.

A South Korean woman classified as a “probable” case of swine flu yesterday is healthy and may recover, Yonhap News reported, citing a health ministry official it didn’t identify. The country yesterday raised its national disaster rating to yellow from the lowest level of blue.

Pig Ban

South Korea’s agriculture ministry said it will suspend imports of live hogs from North America starting today, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said. The government will inspect all shipments of the animals from other regions for the virus.

The country joins China, Indonesia and the Philippines among Asian nations curbing pork imports in defiance of WHO advice that swine flu can’t be transmitted by eating pork.

“You don’t catch influenza from pork,” said MacKenzie, a professorial fellow at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia. “That’s a very silly gut reaction.”

In Thailand, initial test results on a 42-year-old woman suspected of having swine flu were negative, Kamnuan Ungchoosak, an official at the Health Ministry’s Disease Control Department, said yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simeon Bennett in Singapore at sbennett9@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 29, 2009 07:35 EDT