'Explosion' of H1N1 cases awaits the world: WHO
POSTED August 21, 2009 - 15:33 | POSTED BY Priya Markanda
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on August 21, 2009 - 17:00
WHO warned the governments to boost the preparations for a swift response in order to curb the dreaded influenza.
WHO's Western Pacific director, Shin Young-Soo, said that day is not far when the world will witness an outburst of the H1N1 virus.
"At a certain point, there will seem to be an explosion in case numbers," said Shin in a conference of health officials and experts in Beijing. "It is certain there will be more cases and more deaths."
Pandemic a growing global concern
Earlier in the month of June, WHO declared the swine flu influenza as pandemic. Till date, the virus has sniffed lives of up to 1,800 people across the globe.
Health authorities world-wide have now focused on how the A(H1N1) virus is progressing in the southern hemisphere countries, including Australia, which are experiencing winter as well as a flu season.
Shin continued to say that it is in the developing countries where increased spread of the disease poses the greatest threat as it places the under-equipped and under-funded health systems under a severe strain.
WHO has appealed to the governments to act quickly on educating the masses, preparing their own health systems to care for severe cases, and protecting the more vulnerable people in order to prevent unnecessary deaths.
"We only have a short time period to reach the state of preparedness deemed necessary. Communities must be aware before a pandemic strikes as to what they can do to reduce the spread of the virus, and how to obtain early treatment of severe cases," said Shin.
Pregnant women among swine flu susceptible people
WHO chief Margaret Chan warned the masses in a video address that pregnant women face a higher risk of the complications by the flu virus. Also, people with underlying medical conditions such as asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders, have more severe effects of A(H1N1) influenza.
Earlier, WHO had estimated that around 2 billion people around the world, calculating to almost a third of the world's population, could be infected by the dreaded virus over the next two years.
Health officials along with drug makers are busy trying to produce H1N1 vaccines before the northern hemisphere enter its flu season. Estimates for their availability range from September to December this year.
