Senior Latin American and international health officials were alerted to the swine flu outbreak in Mexico at least two weeks before they publicly raised the alarm, sparking questions of whether more could have been done to prevent the spread of the infection around the world.

Edgar Hernandez, five, an early survivor of swine flu in La Gloria, Mexico, where officials said the first known case had occurred

Veratect, a US consultancy that monitors online news, blogs and other information on the internet and compiles its own reports, confirmed on Wednesday that the Pan-American Health Organisation (Paho) had accessed its online warning of an outbreak in Mexico on April 10, although no public alert was issued until April 23.