WHO says pandemic over,India to be on guard

The WHO officially declared the swine flu pandemic over months after many national authorities started cancelling vaccine orders...

The World Health Organisation officially declared the swine flu pandemic over on Tuesday,months after many national authorities started cancelling vaccine orders and shutting down hot lines as hospitalisations and deaths due to the virus dropped sharply.

However,India on its part declared its intention to continue to keep up its guard in the matter. DG ICMR V M Katoch said,It doesnt signify anything for us. We have to be on alert for atleast a year since,unlike other countries,the H1NI cases in India are actually rising on account of the monsoon. While WHO had consulted India in the matter of declaring the pandemic over,India conveyed its decision to keep up vigil in the matter.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the organisations emergency committee of top flu experts advised her that the pandemic had largely run its course and the world is no longer in phase six the highest influenza alert level. I fully agree with the committees advice, Chan told reporters in a telephone briefing from Hong Kong. The virus has now entered the post-pandemic phase,meaning disease activity around the world has returned to levels usually seen for seasonal influenza,she said.

However,Chan cautioned against complacency,warning that countries should keep an eye out for unusual patterns of infection and mutations that might render existing vaccines and anti-viral drugs ineffective. It is likely that the virus will continue to cause serious disease in younger age-groups, she said,urging high-risk groups such as pregnant women to continue seeking vaccination.

Chan insisted that declaring swine flu a pandemic had been the right decision,based on the internationally agreed rules that existed at the time. We have been aided by pure good luck, she said,adding that if the virus had mutated then the death rate could have been much higher. But she acknowledged that changes may be made to the way WHO defines pandemics. We need to review the phases,including the severity, she said.

Nevertheless,health officials around the world should prepare for a new type of seasonal flu to appear in the near future that will combine elements of the pandemic A(H1N1) strain,and older A(H3N2) strain and several lesser strains, Prof Angus Nicoll,flu program coordinator at the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control,said. It looks sort of middle-of-the-road at the moment, he added.