H1N1 2009 Pandemic Influenza

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization's (WHO's) pandemic declaration today isn't a surprise and won't affect the United States' response to the spread of the novel flu virus, which is already aggressive, officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

Jun 11, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – After delaying action for weeks as the novel H1N1 influenza virus took hold in far-flung parts of the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) today declared a full-fledged pandemic, formally recognizing that the virus is becoming a global contagion.

Jun 10, 2009

An official from the World Health Organization (WHO) said today that health experts are closely monitoring novel H1N1 influenza infections in Canada's Inuit populations, following reports that the communities are seeing more than their share of severe cases.

The World Health Organization's (WHO's) count of novel H1N1 influenza cases reached 26,563 today, an increase of 1,275 since yesterday, Dr. Keiji Fukuda reported at a news briefing from Geneva. The death toll increased by 1, to 140, while the number of affected countries stayed the same at 73. Fukuda is the WHO's assistant director-general for health security and the environment.[Canwest News Service story]

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) is getting "very close" to declaring that a novel H1N1 influenza pandemic has arrived, but the agency wants to spend more time preparing the world for that step so it won't cause panic, a WHO official said today.

(CIDRAP News) – Government officials and researchers may have underestimated the potential role of pigs as "mixing vessels" for influenza viruses and the importance of swine surveillance for identifying new pandemic threats, veterinary experts from Mexico asserted recently.

Jun 8, 2009

Jun 5, 2009