WHO urges vigilance against Influenza A (H1N1) flu
Posted: 05 May 2009 0130 hrs

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GENEVA: The World Health Organisation on Monday urged countries to be vigilant and to "strengthen" surveillance of the Influenza A (H1N1) flu outbreak, after confirmed cases of infection topped 1,000.

"In this situation, it's critical that we continue to maintain and strengthen our alert and surveillance," said Keiji Fukuda, WHO acting director-general.

Fukuda said that the current global surveillance is "the best... we ever had."

"This is a new phenomenon. This would not have been possible 20, 30, 50 years ago," he added.

Fukuda said latest data received by the WHO showed that 20 countries have reported 1,025 confirmed cases of infections, including 26 deaths.

The largest number of cases continue to be reported in Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Fukuda observed that in Spain and Britain, confirmed cases remained related to returning travellers from affected areas.

"We do not have any evidence that virus has taken hold and led to community transmission in any other countries right now," he said.

Among questions that experts are seeking to answer is why Influenza A (H1N1) has led to diarrhoea, which is not commonly reported in typical flu.

In addition, experts are trying to understand why the disease had led to severe pneumonia and death in some young people.

WHO director-general Margaret Chan said earlier on Monday that the UN health agency is not planning to raise its pandemic alert level from five to six. - AFP/de