WHO Chief: Swine Flu Pandemic Continues with at least 11,600 Deaths
Pastor Dale Morgan
WHO Chief: Swine Flu Pandemic Continues with at least 11,600 Deaths*
WHO chief says too early to say if swine flu pandemic has peaked everywhere
GENEVA December 29, 2009 (AP)
The Associated Press
It is too early to declare that the swine flu pandemic has peaked
worldwide and many more people could become sick with the virus this
winter, the head of the World Health Organization said in an interview
published Tuesday.
The swine flu outbreak has peaked in the United States, Canada and some
other countries in the northern hemisphere, Dr. Margaret Chan, she told
the Geneva daily Le Temps.
"It is too early to assert that we have passed the peak of the flu A
pandemic at worldwide level," she said. "Not all the countries are there
yet. Winter is still long," said Chan.
Africa and some poor countries in Asia have not seen a surge in the
number of swine flu cases, which could be due to weak reporting or
because the full outbreak there may be yet to come, she told the newspaper.
Over 11,600 people are known to have died from the disease since the
outbreak began in April, according to WHO. Between 250,000 and 500,000
people die from regular flu each year.
When the U.N. health agency declared swine flu to be a pandemic in June,
it described it as "moderate."
While most people recover from the illness without needing medical
treatment, officials are also continuing to see severe cases in people
under 65 — people who are not usually at risk during regular flu seasons.
But since flu viruses constantly evolve, experts have feared swine flu
could mutate into a more dangerous form.
"WHO has adopted a very cautious attitude, even more so because this has
been the first pandemic since four decades," said Chan, who was
scheduled to brief reporters Tuesday.