Swine Flu Headlines » World Health Organization

WHO Says Swine Flu Virus Could Delay World Economic Recovery

admin — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:30:07 +0000

The World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that the Swine Flu virus has swept the globe at “unprecedented speed,” just as a study warned that the Swine Flu pandemic could tip the world into deflation and delay the economic recovery. It added: “In past pandemics, influenza viruses have needed more than six months to spread as widely as the new H1N1 virus has spread in less than six weeks.”

WHO also announced that it would stop giving figures on the numbers infected by the Influenza A (H1N1) virus, in order to allow countries to channel resources into close monitoring of unexpected developments and patterns in the spread of the disease. The Geneva-based health agency said the counting of all individual cases was no longer essential to assess the risk from swine flu.

“WHO will continue to request that these countries report the first confirmed cases and, as far as feasible, provide weekly aggregated case numbers and descriptive epidemiology of the early cases,” it added.

In the last table released by WHO on July 6, it had recorded 94,512 laboratory-confirmed cases in 136 countries and territories since April, including 429 deaths.

Swine Flu Vaccine Meeting

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:16:48 +0000

As swine flu cases now top 6,600 worldwide, vaccine makers and other experts met yesterday at the World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss the tough decisions that must be made quickly in order to fight the evolving swine flu virus.

Pharmaceutical companies are said to be ready to begin making a swine flu vaccine — but there are concerns, especially given that the virus may mutate, so many questions abound: For e.g. how much of the swine flu vaccine should be produced? How will it be distributed? Who should get it? etc.

The group’s recommendations will be passed on to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, who is expected to issue advice to vaccine manufacturers and the World Health Assembly next week.

The United States Now Has The Most Swine Flu Cases

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:21:24 +0000

According to World Health Organization figures released today, confirmed cases of the H1N1 swine flu in the United States has climbed to more than 2,500 as of today (May 11), and the U.S. now surpasses Mexico as the country most affected by the outbreak.

The number of deaths in the United States that are linked Swine Flu rose to three over the weekend, with health officials in Washington state reporting late on Saturday that an unidentified man in his 30s had succumbed to the infection.

Over 2000 Confirmed Swine Flu Cases Worldwide

admin — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:15:19 +0000

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced earlier today that there are now more than 2,000 confirmed swine flu cases in 23 countries worldwide. The exact figure right now is 2,099, with over half this number being attributed to Mexico, the apparent epicenter of the virus. 44 persons in Mexico have died as a result of the swine flu.

30% of the confirmed cases are in the United States, where authorities say the virus is now quite widespread, and two deaths have been reported. The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that the total number of cases in Europe rose to 147, with Spain and Britain reporting the most cases.