As part of urgent steps taken to curb the spread of swine flu in the country, UAE's health ministry has issued a circular to the hospitals and doctors asking them to be fully prepared to deal with any potential cases related to the disease. "Currently there is no actual threat of swine flu to the UAE. We are monitoring the situation," Jamal Al Turki, Technical Director of Preventive Medicines at the ministry said. Though the UAE does not have a risk of infection from live pigs, imported pork meat in the market will now be under scrutiny. Since pigs are not domesticated in the country, all pork products available in the market are imported. These will now be closely monitored, according to the ministry. The outbreak of swine flu was first reported in Mexico and the United States and experts have warned about its pandemic potential as it has claimed over 81 lives and sickened over 1,000 others. The situation had forced World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan to convene a meeting of the Emergency Committee to assess the situation and advise her on appropriate responses. On April 16, the Mexican consulate in Dubai issued a circular to the community updating them about necessary measures to be taken by the country (Mexico) in dealing with the outbreak. "We are keeping a close surveillance on people coming from the infected part of the world based on the slightest flu like symptoms. There is a potential for this flu to turn into an epidemic because this particular virus changes its genetic composition. It can infect pigs but human-to-human transmission does not take place," Turki said. Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs which cause high levels of illness and low death rates in pigs. Its virus do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred.