WHO: Swine flu pandemic is over / LJWorld.com

Archive for Tuesday, August 10, 2010

WHO: Swine flu pandemic is over

August 10, 2010

Geneva — The World Health Organization declared the swine flu pandemic officially over Tuesday, months after many national authorities started canceling vaccine orders and shutting down hot lines as the disease ebbed from the headlines.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the organization's emergency committee of top flu experts advised her that the pandemic had "largely run its course" and the world is no longer in phase six — the highest influenza alert level.

"I fully agree with the committee's advice," Chan told reporters in a telephone briefing from her native Hong Kong.

The virus has now entered the "post-pandemic" phase, meaning disease activity around the world has returned to levels usually seen for seasonal influenza, she said.

But Chan cautioned against complacency, saying that even though hospitalizations and deaths have dropped sharply, countries should still keep a watchful eye for unusual patterns of infection and mutations that might render existing vaccines and antiviral drugs ineffective.

"It is likely that the virus will continue to cause serious disease in younger age groups," she said, urging high-risk groups such as pregnant women to continue seeking vaccination.

Unusually, swine flu hits young adults harder than the over-65s, who are believed to have some immunity to the A(H1N1) strain.

At least 18,449 people have died worldwide since the outbreak began in April 2009. WHO said last week that the true figure is likely to be higher, but the organization's flu chief, Keiji Fukuda, said a final number won't be known for some months.

Still, lab-confirmed deaths globally increased by only about 300 in the past two months and many countries have long since closed the chapter on swine flu.

Governments in Europe and North America started dumping vaccines earlier this year after finding their stocks were full of unused and expiring supplies.

Health authorities in Britain shut down their pandemic flu hot line in February and canceled vaccine orders by a third back in April as it became clear the pandemic strain would be less dangerous than feared. Worst-case scenarios had predicted up to 65,000 deaths in Britain. In the end there were 457 confirmed deaths from swine flu.

In Germany, authorities are meeting later this week to discuss who is going to pick up the bill for the 34 million doses of vaccines that were ordered and mostly not used.

A report by the French Senate published last month criticized WHO's handling of the pandemic, in particularly what it described as an "overestimation" of the risk and insufficient transparency about links between WHO experts and the pharmaceutical industry.

In January, polls showed 70 percent of French population thought the government overestimated the danger of the virus H1N1 and ordered too many doses of vaccine. The government had purchased 94 millions doses of vaccine, but canceled half of the initial order at the start of the year.

WHO chief Chan insisted that declaring swine flu a pandemic had been the right decision, based on the internationally agreed rules that existed at the time.

"We have been aided by pure good luck," she said, adding that if the virus had mutated then the death rate could have been much higher.

But she acknowledged that changes may be made to the way WHO defines pandemics. "We need to review the phases, including the severity," she said.

Prof. Angus Nicoll, flu program coordinator at the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said the decision to declare the pandemic over was consistent with the Stockholm-based body's recent findings.

While flu activity in the northern hemisphere is seasonally low, monitoring in southern hemisphere countries shows that few people are falling seriously ill from swine flu, said Nicoll.

Local spikes in flu deaths, such as seen recently in India, are likely due to better surveillance, he said.

Nevertheless, health officials around the world should prepare for a new type of seasonal flu to appear in the near future that will combine elements of the pandemic A(H1N1) strain, and older A(H3N2) strain and several lesser strains, said Nicoll.

"It looks sort of middle of the road at the moment," he said.

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Boston_Corbett 2 years, 9 months ago

This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.

snap_pop_no_crackle 2 years, 9 months ago

arf

Boston_Corbett 2 years, 9 months ago

Woof.

Did_I_say_that 2 years, 9 months ago

Dang, I missed it!!

kristyj 2 years, 9 months ago

governments worldwide are typically criticized for doing too little. frankly in a situation like this, i'm glad they did too much.

can we take the H1N1-wash-your-hands-or-die signs out of the work bathroom now?

Danimal 2 years, 9 months ago

Is it really over, or is it just a summertime lull?

dudedog12 2 years, 9 months ago

So what new, this happens every year..

Elrond 2 years, 9 months ago

I'm waiting for the random mutation that results in airborn Ebola.

Boston_Corbett 2 years, 9 months ago

airborn Ebola? Citation?

Elrond 2 years, 9 months ago

Try reading for comprehension next time

Practicality 2 years, 9 months ago

After one year of voluntary house arrest to prevent the contraction of the swine flu, I finally ventured outside today and my lungs promptly caught fire due to the 180 degree oxygen that entered my body. I am going back in until late fall now.

Practicality 2 years, 9 months ago

What flu does a tin foil hat prevent? The elephant/donkey flu?

snap_pop_no_crackle 2 years, 9 months ago

I can stop running like the wind every time I hear a pig sneeze? Sweet!

woof, woof.

Boston_Corbett 2 years, 9 months ago

You must have used your N95 air respirator.... Where did you buy it?

Boston_Corbett 2 years, 9 months ago

Bruce Wayne will protect me.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 9 months ago

Damn, you mean Obama was not able to achieve anything by releasing a genetically-manufactured flu strain as a military biological warfare weapon? At least Bush was able to invade a country with non-existent WMDs.

Boston_Corbett 2 years, 9 months ago

What was wrong about talking about Trade routes to Herrington, or the world is going to end because of swine flu, or calling for the US-Mexico border to close?

Maybe it was referring to momma's basement?

Come on guys, I can't be the only one to shoulder the load. How many words a minute can YOU type with nine fingers?

Did_I_say_that 2 years, 9 months ago

Depends on which nine. ;-D

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 9 months ago

Boston, I type about 53 wpm with 8 fingers.

Boston_Corbett 2 years, 9 months ago

RI: Wow. In your mama's basement? Do you have posters on the walls of guns and muscle cars? Wear sunglasses much? What vodka do you drink?

Just curious :)

Boston_Corbett 2 years, 9 months ago

Anyone know where I can buy a bankcard or two, a paypal account, and some articles of incorporation?

Or maybe someone can pull them out of a Blackhat for me.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 9 months ago

Boston, Not in my mama's basement, left home at 17, never been back. I have gun porn in the throne room. I always wear sunglasses, but they are cheap tinted safety glasses. No vodka, just cheap Barton rum with lime and mint leaves ever since I found out a margarita has about 900 calories.

snap_pop_no_crackle 2 years, 9 months ago

You going uptown, Boston? growl

Boston_Corbett 2 years, 9 months ago

Maybe to the Mirth.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 9 months ago

Free Steven Slater!

overthemoon 2 years, 9 months ago

go after the guy that bashed him on the head. Assault with a deadly luggage.

riverdrifter 2 years, 9 months ago

NYT sez it was a gal.

riverdrifter 2 years, 9 months ago

Hey, it gets better, according to some sources: when the cops showed up at Slater's house to arrest him, he was tearin' off a little with his gf. Yes!

Boston_Corbett 2 years, 9 months ago

really.

scopi_guy 2 years, 9 months ago

This little piggy cried weeeeee weeeeeeeeeeee weeeeeeeeeeeeeee all the way home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F_G2zp-opg

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 2 years, 9 months ago

See this is why I respect the hell out of the gays. Because they're not afraid to get flamboyant on you. They understand that you can never be too over the top. That you always got to always leave the crowd wanting more. Like a straight dude probably just grabs the intercom and swears at a dude and then gets fired.. But not a gay dude. He grabs two beers, parachute slides it out of there with his hair blowing in the wind just leaving everybody breathless on the scene. And when the cops arrived at Steven's house in Queens to arrest him, he was in the middle of getting down with his main man! That's the mark of a true entertainer. Just a virtuoso performance on how to quit your job. Somewhere Liberace is smiling.