WHO declares pandemic

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The World Health Organisation declared a swine flu pandemic on Thursday, raising its alert to the maximum level six, the Swedish government said.

Swedish Health Minister Maria Larsson was to hold a press conference later Thursday following "the WHO's decision to raise the pandemic level to six for the influenza A(H1N1)," the government said in a statement.

A total of 74 countries are now affected by the virus.

The WHO was holding a meeting at its headquarters in Geneva amid growing evidence the virus, which originated in Mexico two months ago, is now being widely transmitted between humans in Asia and Europe as well as the Americas.

Under WHO guidelines, one key criteria for declaring a pandemic would be established community spread in a country outside the first region in which the disease was initially reported.

The Geneva-based UN body last declared a flu pandemic 40 years ago.

On Wednesday, the number of A(H1N1) infections reported to the health agency by the 74 countries had reached 27,737, including 141 deaths.

The figures were released before authorities in Guatemala reported the country's first swine flu-related death, when a 12-year-old boy stricken by the virus died from kidney failure.

Guatemala is the eighth nation to report a death linked to swine flu. All fatal cases have been in the Americas and the Caribbean.

The vast majority of deaths have been in Mexico where 108 are known to have been killed by the virus. More than 6,133 have been infected there.
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http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090611/health/health_flu_who_sweden
 
And que the unnecessary amount of panic...........now. >.> From what I've read Australia is having a big problem, with cases spiking to over 1,000.
 
Wait the flu is still around? Ah well I really don't care until a case pops up here again and is real serious as the parson came into contact with others or something.
 
I won't start worrying until we get a higher deaths-to-cases ratio. The percentage (0.27%) here is laughable. The people dying here are either very young, very old or else have serious medical problems.
 
I'm not to worried about this. It's jsut basically a more potent version of the flu....

Now if it was smallpox or something like that, than I'd be afraid.
 
This flu? I already got it, at least as far as I know. Came and went and I'm fine now. My doctor never did any tests. :/ At most, it's a nuisance. It's not like perfectly healthy people are dying from this. In fact, has any otherwise healthy person not from a third-world country died from swine flu and ONLY it?
 
Melodyfree said:
In fact, has any otherwise healthy person not from a third-world country died from swine flu and ONLY it?
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Yes; there have been several deaths now in both Canada and America at least that have had no other health issues, as I recall from the last news report I watched on it.

I was watching CBC Newsworld yesterday and they were commenting on how what sets H1N1 apart from other flu strains is that it does not affect the elderly most. IIRC, they reported that there are a higher incidence of more youthful people catching the strain.
 
Personally, I feel as though people are blowing this a little out of proportion. Out the 19,273 cases reported, 117 deaths have occurred - seventeen of those are in the United States. The mortality rate is 0.6%. True, it may be spread worldwide at this point, but I hardly think it's something to panic over, and the word 'pandemic' does induce that feeling in people.
 
The annual death toll from the real flu is estimated to be between 250,000 to 500,000. When Swine Flu starts to approach that, then I think we might start to have a problem.
 
Fortunately, while very prolific, swine flu isn't a particularly severe strain. *knock wood*
 
Nicoleta01 said:
And que the unnecessary amount of panic...........now. >.> From what I've read Australia is having a big problem, with cases spiking to over 1,000.
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We haven't had a single death yet. Most of the people who have the virus have said that they don't feel any different. If I knew more about it I'd be tempted to call misdiagnoses.
 
Tsk...The weird thing is..my home country the Philippines is still on high alert over this with several schools and universities shut down on the opening of the school year. With 'round the clock news updates. 8D
 
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