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GENEVA: The swine flu virus that has killed dozens in Mexico could mutate into a "more dangerous" strain, a senior WHO official said on Sunday, adding that the UN agency will decide on Tuesday if it should raise its alert rating.
"Yes, it's quite possible for this virus to evolve," Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant-general for health, security and the environment told journalists.
"When viruses evolve, clearly they can become more dangerous to people," he said.
At least 20 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the virus, and Fukuda said that "it is fair to characterise our view of the situation as serious."
Fukuda's comments came a day after WHO chief Margaret Chan warned that the "virus has clearly a pandemic potential."
However, experts at the WHO would wait until Tuesday before meeting to decide if it should increase its rating of the seriousness of the pandemic potential from the current level three to level four - which would indicate a "significant increase in risk of a pandemic."
Fukuda explained that this is because the World Health Organisation needs more information about the "behaviour of these viruses."
"It's also clear that we are in a period in which we have to be very careful to collect the best possible information," he said.
"We really need to understand a little more about the epidemiology, we need to understand the behaviour of these viruses."
Emphasising the seriousness of an increase in rating, Fukuda said it "sends a signal that governments should very strongly increase surveillance, pandemic preparedness and assess very seriously what steps they can take should this become a pandemic situation."
If there is such an escalation, however, the world is better prepared than in the past to cope, Fukuda said.
Following the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in 2003 that nearly killed 800 people and amid regular reported bird flu cases, countries have stepped up preparations against a pandemic in recent years.
This include national strategies to deal with any outbreak, as well as stockpiles of anti-viral drugs.
The WHO itself holds a stockpile of about five million treatment courses of the antiviral drug Tamiflu, Fukuda said.
In addition, pharmaceutical groups have increased manufacturing capacity significantly, meaning that production could be ramped up if required.
"In the immediate period, I would say that we are much better off than we were in the past," Fukuda said. - AFP/de
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