Swine flu cases top 1,000: WHO

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 9:12 PM Posted by Beijing News


The number of swine flu victims topped the 1,000 mark on Monday as the United Nations' most senior health official warned a second wave of the virus could be far worse.

As Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, prepared for the reopening on Wednesday of restaurants and businesses shuttered by the AH1N1 virus, the number of affected countries climbed once again.

Mexico raised its confirmed swine flu toll to 26 deaths and 776 infected cases on Monday, but said the epidemic appeared to be slowing.

But the sense of alarm grew in Britain with the virus found in seven people who had not been to Mexico, and the World Health Organization WHO and US President Barack Obama urged vigilance.

Acting WHO director-general Keiji Fukuda earlier said there were 1,025 confirmed cases of swine flu, including 26 deaths, spread across 20 countries. One person has also died in the United States.

"In this situation, it's critical that we continue to maintain and strengthen our alert and surveillance," he said.

WHO chief Margaret Chan told UN officials in New York that despite the continued spread, a pandemic could not yet be declared.

"We don't know how long we have till we move to phase six. Six indicates we are in a pandemic. We are not there yet."

Chan said the end of the flu season in the northern hemisphere meant that while any initial outbreak could be milder, a second wave could be more lethal, reflecting a pattern seen with the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that killed up to 50 million people.

Its re-emergence "would be the biggest of all outbreaks the world has faced in the 21st century," she told the Financial Times.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said the epidemic, which has brought the country's tourism industry to its knees, had been contained and that schools, businesses and some tourist venues would reopen in coming days.

Mexico aims to get "back on the path to normality" after containing its swine flu epidemic thanks in large part to a week-long shutdown, Calderon said, while warning that the virus "is still present and there remains a risk of it propagating."

Experts cautioned the virus was far from defeated and could return with "a vengeance."

UN chief Ban Ki-moon echoed appeals for caution, saying at the UN talks: "There is still much that is not known about this new strain and the dangers it poses ... In the face of uncertainty, we must be vigilant."

Obama also pleaded for caution as the United States recorded 286 cases of swine flu in 36 of the nation's 50 states.

"Certainly you're always hopeful that what you plan for may never come to fruition. But the key is to prepare for any outcome and be prepared to address it," the US president said.

But US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC acting director Richard Besser ruled out the need to mass produce a vaccine right away.

Experts were still seeking answers to questions about influenza AH1N1, among them why the virus has led to diarrhea, which is not commonly reported in typical flu. They were also examining why the disease has led to severe pneumonia and death in some young people.



A stuntman walks on a tightrope in China to break a world record. REUTERS/Stringer

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)