WHO says world still in H1N1 pandemic
The world is still in an H1N1 flu pandemic despite signs that the period of of most intense activity appears to have passed,the World Health Organization said Thursday.
The U.N. agency made the announcement two days after a virtual meeting of international flu experts responsible for providing advice on the pandemic to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan.
"After extensive discussions and questions, the committee expressed the unanimous view that from a global perspective while pandemic activity is continuing, the period of most intense pandemic activity appears likely to have passed for many parts of the world,"
shifu the WHO said in a statement.
The WHO said it remains critical for countries to continue to maintain vigilance concerning the pandemic, including all necessary public health measures for disease control as well as influenza virus and disease surveillance.
Following the advice of the committee, Chan "determined that while the period of most intense pandemic activity has passed, pandemic disease is expected to continue to occur," the statement said.
Chan also decided that another meeting would be held in mid-July to reassess the situation. Mid-July is when information from the winter influenza season in the Southern Hemisphere will be available.
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The alert level is currently at phase 6 - the highest - but could be moved to the "post-peak" or "post-pandemic" stage as circulation of the virus continues to decline.
The WHO last week confirmed 18,114 deaths from the flu worldwide since the start of the outbreak in April 2009.
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