WHO close to declaring swine flu a pandemic

by Rich Bowden - Jun 11 2009, 03:40

With the H1N1 (swine flu) virus now present in 73 countries, and with 26,563 confirmed cases and 140 deaths, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has admitted it is close to declaring the virus as a full pandemic.

Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO's assistant director-general for health, security and environment, told reporters in Geneva yesterday that an announcement was imminent, though the organisation was looking to prevent panic.

"We are getting close to declaring a pandemic. But we are trying to get as much information out to countries as we can that would relieve anxiety," Dr. Fukuda said. "Right now we consider the situation to be relatively moderate."

WHO has declared the outbreak to be a level five emergency, one level short of declaring it an official pandemic.

However, more recent outbreaks, particularly in Australia and South America, have increased the likelihood of WHO raising the level to six, said Dr. Fukuda.

"We are mindful of what is going on in Australia and we are getting closer [to a pandemic]," he said.

Dr. Fukuda said his organisation is busy preparing countries for the prospect of dealing with the emergency.

"...it is not just a matter of getting up in front of cameras and making a declaration, it's to prepare countries for this situation so that they have the information, the knowledge, and the tools to handle the increased numbers of people who may be sick -- to make sure all the steps that can be taken are being taken."

He also explained that important work was being done on anti-viral supplies.

"For WHO the most important principle of all this is that the actions we take, the announcements we make they are to help people, to help countries to have the most positive effect possible, make countries as resilient as possible.This requires a lot of effort and a lot of time, that's what we're doing right now."

Want regular updates from The Tech Herald? Follow us on Twitter.

Interested in a more interactive TTH? Join our Facebook Group.

Around the Web