By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

As swine flu cases mount in New York City, Kansas and other places this weekend, it's important that elected and health officials don't allow panic to take hold.

This is the first test for President Barack Obama and his health and Homeland Security teams.

Obama, who recently traveled to Mexico, has to help make sure accurate information gets out about how people can get infected and how it can be treated.

On Sunday, health experts were pounding home the point that the U.S. cases have been milder than the ones that have now killed more than 80 people in Mexico.

Another piece of good news: American officials say they are going to make sure the medicines used to treat swine flu can get where they are needed in the country -- and quickly.

However, worldwide health officials are still raising the possibility that swine flu, at least in other countries, could present a huge threat to millions of people.

As more evidence is gathered about just how dangerous this outbreak is, the U.S. government should look at whether it makes sense to slap travel restrictions on going to Mexico.

And U.S. officials already have taken another common-sense step, boosting border security to ask visitors about whether they have possible swine flu symptons before entering the United States.