Swine Flu Watch: “Does WHO need to declare flu a full pandemic?”
>>Does WHO need to declare flu a full pandemic?
With most people breathing easier about H1N1 flu, the World Health Organisation finds itself in a bind about how to respond to the continuing spread of the virus whose effects have proved mainly mild.
The United Nations agency’s guidelines state that as soon as the virus starts spreading freely in two regions of the world, its six-point pandemic alert should be raised to the top notch.
With infection numbers rising in Europe, public health experts are struggling to decide whether it is worth sounding the full alarm over H1N1, which is treatable with existing drugs and appears less severe than seasonal flu in most cases.
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“Level 6 does not mean, in any way, that we are facing the end of the world,” [WHO Director General Margaret Chan] told the Spanish daily El Pais this week. She stressed that the alert ladder indicates how likely the virus is to spread around the world, not how dangerous it is.
Full Article: here.
>>Flu spat cools budding Mexico-China relationship
China’s decision to quarantine dozens of Mexicans to guard against the spread of a deadly new flu has soured the relationship between the two exporters, which compete for access to the U.S. market.
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Mexico accused China of discrimination after Beijing, worried about the H1N1 flu strain, ordered some 70 Mexicans, including a honeymooning couple, into seclusion, even though none had symptoms.
Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa called the isolation measures “unacceptable” and “without foundation” and advised Mexicans against traveling to China.
Full Article: here
