Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
WHO chief warns against false security about flu
Fri May 15, 2009 10:42am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Stephanie Nebehay and Laura MacInnis
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization warned on Friday against a false sense of security from waning and apparently mild outbreaks of H1N1 flu, saying the worst may not be over.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said there remained "great uncertainty" about the new strain that continues to spread and could pose particular threats in Southeast Asia.
But she could not say whether or when the United Nations agency might raise its pandemic alert to the highest level from the current 5 on a scale of 6. The trigger would be if sustained spread was confirmed in communities outside of North America.
"Actually, I am asking myself that question every day," Chan said in response to a question from Argentina's delegation.
"We are meeting at a time of crisis that could have global implications," she warned the intergovernmental meeting on pandemic influenza preparedness at WHO's Geneva headquarters. "This is a virus so evasive that it can quietly and stealthily move into your country without you even realizing it."
The two-day meeting is tackling the sensitive issue of virus sharing in exchange for access to vaccines derived from them.
At the height of fears about bird flu, Indonesia had refused to share H5N1 virus samples without guarantees the vaccines would be provided to poorer countries at an affordable price.
The negotiations, begun in November 2007, have taken on fresh urgency with the emergence of the H1N1 virus.
If negotiators reach a draft agreement, it would be brought to the WHO's annual assembly of health ministers, who meet in Geneva next week, for possible adoption.
GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, Baxter International and other drug makers are awaiting WHO guidance about whether to start mass-producing vaccines to fight H1N1, which may force them to cut production of seasonal flu shots.
Glaxo said on Friday it had received orders from several governments, including Britain, France, Belgium and Finland, looking to stockpile a pandemic vaccine against the new virus.
Chan said she would make a recommendation soon about the appropriate balance between making the two types of injections.
"We are moving on two tracks to ensure some security for seasonal vaccine and at the same time kick-starting early scientific work for pandemic vaccine," she told the session.
SHARING SAMPLES
The WHO chief commended countries with H1N1 infections for their "timely sharing of samples for risk assessment and making seed vaccine," saying the starting point for larger production of injections could be ready by the end of this month. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Freed reporter Saberi arrives in Austria from Iran
Afghanistan and Pakistan
Fighting the Taliban
A growing insurgency in Afghanistan is also spreading deep into Pakistan, making both countries crucial to U.S. war efforts in the region. Full Coverage
More International News
Taliban "shaving beards" to flee Swat: army
| Video
West rebukes Myanmar on "trumped-up" Suu Kyi case
Fighting rages in Sri Lanka, more civilians flee
| Video
Potent messages as Pope ends Holy Land pilgrimage
Rights group: U.S. must change air strike drill
| Video
More International News...
Featured Broker sponsored link
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Hackers launch phishing attack on Facebook users
Farrah Fawcett in legal tug-of-war in dying days | Video
Stocks still face deflationary collapse: Prechter
California governor sees $15.4 billion gap
GM near deal with UAW: report | Video
Authorities probe insider trading at SEC: source
West rebukes Myanmar on "trumped-up" Suu Kyi case
Toyota Prius orders mount as shake-up looms
Combat rages in Sri Lanka, more civilians flee
CIA rebuffs Cheney over interrogation documents
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Farrah's emotional night
Obama's about face on abuse photos
Astronauts replace camera on Hubble
Tornadoes pound U.S. heartland
Struggling autos shut dealerships
Japan's latest bra push
Aristocrat jailed for Kenya death
Phelps dives back into competition
Atlantis makes contact with Hubble
Peru mummy discovery
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
U.S. military giant, diplomatic dwarf?
Bernd Debusmann
The U.S. armed forces outnumber the country’s diplomatic service and its major aid agency by a ratio of more than 180:1. Is the huge imbalance destined to remain a permanent fixture in the political landscape? Commentary
Follow Bernd Debusmann on Twitter
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.