WHO: Swine flu virus can produce larger outbreaks outside Mexico

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Source: CCTV.com | 04-29-2009 09:07

The World Health Organization says the New York case suggests the swine flu outbreak in Mexico has now passed among people who never left the US.

In this image made from television, World Health Organization Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda speaks about swine flu in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, April 28, 2009.(AP Photo/APTN)

The WHO flu chief, Doctor Keiji Fukuda, said the virus could be strong enough to produce larger outbreaks outside Mexico, possibly causing a flu pandemic. But he added it is still too early to say if a pandemic that threatens the whole world is "inevitable".

Fukuda said it is entirely possible that the world might see a very mild pandemic. But he urged caution, saying that the flu pandemic of 1918 started out as a mild spread of disease but later became severe, and killed over 40-million people.

The WHO has advised countries to make sure national plans are in place to ease the impact of a larger outbreak.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei