The Indonesia's Health Ministry warned that immediate preventive measures must be taken to avoid swine flu in the country following a string of deaths caused by the disease in the United States and Mexico, the Jakarta Post quoted an official as saying on Monday.

"There are six initial preventive steps we should take to cope with the lethal influenza," said the ministry's Plaque Control Director General Tjandra Yoga Aditama said here,

The six steps are gathering all scientific-related data on the virus, coordinating with the World Health Organization (WHO), issuing early warning letters, coordinating with medical officers in all ports nationwide, coordinating with health research agencies and cooperating with the Agricultural Ministry and the Foreign Ministry.

"Generally, the symptom are like those found in common influenza, namely high fever, coughing, tiredness and sore throat followed by nausea, vomiting and diarrhea," he said.

Swine flu is caused by influenza subtype A variant H1N1, commonly carried by animals, mostly pigs, with a possibility for human-to-human transmission.