WHO Declares End to Swine Flu Pandemic in Humans Declared in June 2009

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WHO Declares End to Swine Flu Pandemic in Humans Declared in June 2009

By Dermot Doherty - Aug 10, 2010 11:37 AM ET

The World Health Organization declared an end to the swine flu pandemic that

swept the globe beginning last year without becoming as lethal as health

authorities deemed possible.

Transmission of the H1N1 virus appears similar to a typical seasonal influenza

virus, though it's still likely to cause serious disease in young people and the

magnitude of future outbreaks is " very difficult " to predict, WHO

Director-General Margaret Chan said today on a conference call with journalists.

Pandemic vaccines remain a match for the virus, which is also vulnerable to

Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu, Chan said.

In June 2009, WHO, a Geneva-based arm of the United Nations, declared the

pandemic, the first since 1968 and the fourth time in the last century that a

new flu strain had spread among people globally. While about 18,500 deaths from

the infection were confirmed, it may be years before a precise estimate is

possible, WHO said. Seasonal flu kills as many as 500,000 people each year. The

swine-flu outbreak that grew into the pandemic was first reported in April 2009,

in Mexico.

" We are now moving into the post-pandemic period, " Chan said. " The new H1N1

virus has largely run its course. "

WHO's emergency committee met today to discuss the status of the pandemic, as

the H1N1 virus circles the globe a second time with no sign it's becoming

deadlier or more resistant to drugs. The committee unanimously advised Chan to

declare the pandemic over.

`Much More Fortunate'

" The pandemic has turned out to be much more fortunate than what we feared a

little over a year ago, " Chan said.

Three other pandemics have occurred in the last century: the Spanish flu in

1918, the Asian flu in 1957 and the Hong Kong flu in 1968. The 1918 pandemic

killed an estimated 40 million to 50 million people worldwide and is considered

one of the deadliest diseases in human history, according to WHO.

U.S. health authorities determined in June that special medical measures to

fight the pandemic are no longer required and said other countries were likely

to make similar assessments. Countries in the Northern Hemisphere were right to

scale back their response to the virus, Chan said.

WHO has recommended that flu-vaccine makers include the H1N1 strain, an H3N2

virus and an influenza type-B virus in the composition of this year's influenza

shot. The agency said in February that more than 300 million people had been

immunized against the new H1N1 virus.

" Based on experience with past pandemics, we expect the H1N1 virus to take on

the behavior of a seasonal influenza virus and continue to circulate for some

years to come, " Chan said.

`Right Call'

WHO's decision to declare a pandemic last year was the " right call " and the

agency was " aided by pure luck " as the H1N1 virus didn't mutate into a

more-deadly form, Chan said.

The organization came under fire over its handling of the pandemic, and the BMJ,

formerly known as the British Medical Journal, published a report in June saying

WHO was swayed by experts who received money from Basel, Switzerland-based Roche

and London-based GlaxoKline Plc, a maker of flu vaccine. Chan denied the

claim, saying at the time that her decision to declare a pandemic was based on

defined criteria.

While WHO still sees " intense " H1N1 activity in some countries and the virus is

showing signs of significant transmission in New Zealand, there's evidence that

communities are developing immunity, she said.

A pandemic is an unexpected outbreak of a new contagious disease that spreads

from person to person across borders.