【每日快报】SWINE FLU 'MAY ALREADY BE PANDEMIC'

magicboy

SWINE FLU 'MAY ALREADY BE PANDEMIC'
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/106586/Swine-flu-may-already-be-pandemic
Wednesday June 10,2009


A woman wearing a face mask as a result of the ongoing swine flu alert


The head of the World Health Organisation is due to consult governments about changing the international alert on the swine flu outbreak.

WHO director-general Margaret Chan said she believes the spread may have reached pandemic level, and she plans to consult with governments before making a formal announcement.

China's confirmed cases of swine flu topped 100 on Wednesday, with 12 new cases, and infections were also reported in Hong Kong, South Korea, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.

WHO says the virus has infected more than 26,500 people in 73 countries and caused 140 deaths. Most of the cases have been in North America, but Europe and Australia have seen a sharp increase in recent days. Australia's cases jumped to more than 1,000 on Monday and reached 1,260 by late Wednesday.

If swine flu is shown to be spreading rapidly from person to person in another world region beyond North America, such as Australia, that should trigger the conditions for WHO to declare a pandemic, meaning the outbreak has gone global.

However, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "The localised cases of swine flu found in the UK have, in the majority of cases, not been severe and we have not seen evidence of widespread community transmission."

The DoH spokeswoman went on: "We are continuing to work to slow the spread of the disease and to put in place arrangements to ensure that the UK is well placed to deal with this new infection. We must not be complacent - it is right to prepare for the possibility of a global pandemic.

"Clearly, the WHO declaring an official pandemic would be a serious development. However, the WHO alert levels reflect the global view, and any action taken in the UK would be based on the situation here. We are monitoring the situation constantly and if anything changes we will react accordingly."

On Tuesday a Berkshire school became the 20th to close since the outbreak of swine flu. The Health Protection Agency said five schools are currently closed, while 15 have shut and have since reopened.

A further nine people in England were confirmed with swine flu on Tuesday, bringing the total in the UK to 675. There have now been 435 confirmed cases in England, 232 in Scotland, six in Northern Ireland and two in Wales. Another 504 possible cases are under investigation.