Swine flu 'getting closer' to pandemic level, WHO official says

The spread of swine flu in Australia, Europe and Asia has nudged the World Health Organization closer to considering declaring a pandemic.

As the flu season gets under way in the southern hemisphere, the H1N1 strain has caused more infections than seasonal flu in Chile, Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's acting assistant director-general, said Tuesday.

The disease has reached 64 countries and infected 18,965 people, causing 117 deaths, WHO said.

"We still are waiting for evidence of really widespread community activity in these countries, and so it's fair to say that they are in transition and are not quite there yet, which is why we are not in Phase 6 yet," Fukuda told reporters.

Phase 6 is currently the maximum level on WHO's pandemic scale, and signifies a global epidemic.

Fukuda called the infections "moderate," noting it's not clear how the infection will unfold, but that the virus is causing severe infections in healthy, young adults in some cases.

WHO is considering whether to act on the advice of governments and public health experts who have suggested adding severity of flu illnesses to the agency's pandemic criteria.

Currently, WHO is looking for geographic spread of swine flu beyond North America. In terms of those criteria, the world is "at Phase 5 but getting closer to Phase 6," Fukuda said.

Three degrees of flu severity could be incorporated into Phase 6, and adjusted if the virus caused more serious health problems, Fukuda said.

He urged countries to refrain from "drastic actions" like costly trade bans and travel barriers that are "really unnecessary and potentially anxiety provoking and unhelpful."

As of Monday, there were 1,530 laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 flu virus reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada, up 194 from May 29. 

Also on Tuesday, the World Bank approved adding $500 million US to an existing fund for helping developing countries prevent and control outbreaks of influenza.

The fund was set up in 2006 for bird flu.

The fund will fast-track funds to help governments buy medicine and equipment, pay for hospital care and public information campaigns, strengthen monitoring of human and animal health, and help limit the economic damage caused by such outbreaks, said Jeff Gutman, the World Bank’s vice president for operations.