Swine Flu WHO & CDC Alert now at pandemic level 5
The world should prepare for a possible swine flu pandemic, especially in developing nations which could be hit particularly hard by the virus, the World Health Organisation warned today.
The apparently new strain of the H1N1 flu, which seemingly originated in Mexico, has now been confirmed in seven countries, including the UK, New Zealand and Israel, with suspected outbreaks investigated in a number of others. It has shown an apparent ability to transfer from person to person, making its rapid global threat "a very serious possibility", said the WHO's deputy head, Keiji Fukuda.
"Countries should take the opportunity to prepare for a pandemic," Fukuda told reporters in Geneva, while stressing that a pandemic was not yet inevitable.
Special efforts should be made towards less rich nations which "really get hit disproportionately hard" by pandemics, he said
