The WHO States that the Influenza A Virus has not Mutated into more Deadly Forms

The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, said Monday that the H1N1 flu virus has not mutated into a more lethal and that the vaccine manufacturing process is well under way.

“The virus could mutate at any time. But from April to now, we can see through the information from laboratories worldwide that the virus is very similar” to its original form, said the director of WHO at the meeting opening of the body in the Western Pacific region.

Margaret Chan also noted that the H1N1 flu vaccination produced in mass are very effective and that the best the number of doses produced worldwide is U.S. $ 3,000 million.

The director of the WHO also stressed that the main challenge in the fight against the pandemic is to ensure that developing countries have enough vaccine. “The results of initial tests show that a single dose of vaccine is sufficient. If confirmed, this will double the number of vaccines available,” he said. “But the real question is whether this will result in a more equitable distribution of vaccines. I assure you I will explore this possibility under different angles,” he said.

Last week, WHO has indicated that the annual production of H1N1 influenza vaccines would be lower than expected and would be “well below” 4,900 million doses. “The current supply of pandemic vaccine not meet the needs of the global population in which all are susceptible to contamination by a new highly contagious virus” had been noted in a statement generates director of WHO.

On Sunday, the regional director of the agency, Shin Young-soo said the WHO and the UN tried to collect 1,000 million dollars to help the countries most in need to purchase vaccines.

Margaret Chan, former head of Health of Hong Kong, also suggested that the territorial authorities are doing little by little less drastic measures against the pandemic and to concentrate their resources for the sick.

Only patients with high risk, such as the elderly, obese and suffering from chronic diseases could be strongly affected by the virus, he noted.

Hong Kong, which in 2003 was on the frontlines of the epidemic of atypical pneumonia (SARS) and is on alert against avian flu, took a series of strict measures to combat swine fever and especially severe in control borders.

The chief executive of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang, said he would not carry any risk from the pandemic, responding to criticism of having acted too after the announcement of the first cases of H1N1 flu in May. “We have taken every precaution to avoid spreading the virus. In light of recent experiences with avian flu and SARS, the government did not run or run any risk,” said Tsang.