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The World Health Organisation (WHO) logo is seen at its headquarters in Geneva - Source: Reuters -
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The World Health Organisation is getting close to declaring a
full H1N1 influenza pandemic but wants to make sure countries are
well prepared for such a move to prevent a panic, its top flu
expert said.
Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director-general, voiced concern
at the sustained spread of the new strain in countries including
more than 1,000 cases in Australia following major outbreaks in
North America where it was first detected.
The disease, widely known as swine flu, which has infected over
26,500 people in 73 countries, with 140 deaths, has also spread
widely in Britain, Spain and Japan.
Confirmed community spread in a second region beyond North America
would trigger moving to phase 6 from the current phase 5 on the
WHO's 6-level pandemic alert scale.
Asked whether there was any doubt that a pandemic was under way,
Fukuda told a weekly teleconference: "We are really getting very
close to that."
Fukuda said a decision to declare a pandemic involved more than
simply making an announcement.
The United Nations agency had to ensure that countries were able
to deal with the new situation and also handle any public
reaction.
"One of the critical issues is that we do not want people to
'over-panic' if they hear that we are in a pandemic situation,"
Fukuda said.
A very real danger was that hospitals could be overwhelmed by
people seeking help when they did not really need it.
Since the new flu strain first appeared, many people have stopped
eating pork, pigs have been culled in some countries, trade bans on
meat imposed, travellers quarantined and some countries have
discussed closing borders.
"These are the kinds of potential adverse effects that you can have
if you go out without making sure people understand the situation
as well as possible," Fukuda said.
