The World Health Organization declared the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years, due to the spread of the H1N1 swine flu.
The Geneva-based U.N. agency on Thursday raised the pandemic flu alert to six, the highest level, which indicates that the disease is spreading world-wide.
The decision, which followed a sharp rise in the number of confirmed cases in Australia Wednesday, was made at an emergency meeting the WHO held with its experts. The last flu pandemic was in 1968.
The declaration will require all countries, including the dozens that haven't yet reported any cases, to launch pandemic-prevention plans.
Around 35,000 cases of people infected with the H1N1 virus have now been reported in 74 countries, Margaret Chan, director general of the WHO, said Thursday.
'Further spread of the disease is inevitable,' Ms. Chan said. So far, the disease appears to be mild and the WHO doesn't expect a sudden or dramatic jump in the number of severe or fatal cases reported.
The agency is urging countries where the disease has already peaked to prepare for a second wave of infections.
Vaccine makers will finish production of seasonal vaccine, and full capacity of seasonal vaccine will therefore be available for the coming flu season in the Northern Hemisphere.
Ms. Chan said that Roche Holding AG, maker of antiviral drug Tamiflu, has made sizable donations of the drug to the organization. The WHO has distributed the first donations and is now getting a further 5.6 million doses from Roche for distribution. The WHO has also invited generic drug makers to start producing antiviral drugs, she added.
In Australia, the number of confirmed cases of swine flu has more than tripled in the past week, reaching 1,263 on Thursday, when three new cases were confirmed in the state of Tasmania. It recorded its first case of the disease on May 9.
'Australia catches our eye particularly not because of the number of cases but because of strong evidence of community transmission,' particularly in the southern state of Victoria and its capital, Melbourne, said Peter Cordingley, a spokesman for the World Health Organization based in Manila. He said the WHO is also focusing on similar evidence in the U.K., Spain, Japan and Chile.
In Hong Kong, the government on Thursday ordered the closure of all nurseries, kindergartens and primary schools for two weeks after a dozen students at one school tested positive for swine flu. Elsewhere in Asia, health officials in Thailand confirmed 30 new H1N1 cases, raising the total there to 46.
About half of the world's confirmed H1N1 cases, or 13,217, are in the U.S., including 27 deaths, according to the WHO.
Mr. Cordingley noted that the term pandemic was 'a measure of the spread of the virus, not the severity of the virus.' The virus's effects are moderate at the moment, he noted. 'But it's still going to infect an awful lot of people.'
【全文參考翻譯】
由於甲型H1N1流感的蔓延，世界衛生組織(WHO)宣布了40多年來首次流感大流行。
總部位於日內瓦的世衛組織周四將疫情警戒級別上調至最高的6級，這個級別表示這種疫病在世界範圍內蔓延。
澳大利亞周三確診病例劇增，隨後世衛組織召集專家舉行緊急會議作出上述決定。上一次流感大流行是在1968年。
宣布流感大流行將要求所有國家實施防疫計劃，尚未報告病例的國家也不例外。
世衛總幹事陳馮富珍(Margaret Chan)周四說，全球已有74個國家報告了3.5萬例感染甲型H1N1流感病毒的病例。
陳馮富珍說，這種疫病的進一步蔓延是無可避免的。這種疾病迄今為止顯得較為溫和，世衛預計危重和致死病例的數量不會突然或急劇增加。
世衛組織正敦促疫病已經達到高峰的國家準備應對第二波感染。
疫苗生產商將完成季節性疫苗的生產，這樣北半球即將來臨的流感季節將有足夠的季節性疫苗可用。
陳馮富珍說，生產抗病毒藥達菲(Tamiflu)的羅氏公司(Roche Holding Ag)已向世衛捐贈了大量這種藥品。世衛已經分發了首批捐贈的藥品，目前正從羅氏獲得又一批560萬劑達菲用於分發。陳馮富珍表示，世衛還邀請仿製藥生產商開始生產抗病毒藥。
澳大利亞過去一周確診病例人數增加了兩倍以上，截至周四達1,263例，周四在澳大利亞塔斯馬尼亞州新增3例確診病例。澳大利亞5月9日報告了首例確診病例。
世衛駐馬尼拉發言人考丁力(Peter Cordingley)說，澳大利亞引起我們注意的原因並不是因為病例的數量，而是存在群體性傳播的強烈跡象。他說，世衛同時也在關注英國、西班牙、日本和智利的類似跡象。
香港政府周四下令所有托兒所、幼兒園和小學關閉兩周，此前一所學校有十幾名學生被確診為甲型H1N1流感。泰國衛生官員確診30例新增病例，該國感染甲型H1N1流感的總人數達到46名。
世衛組織的數據顯示，全球甲型H1N1流感確診病例約有一半（13,217例）在美國，其中有27例死亡。
考丁力強調，“大流行”的說法隻是衡量病毒的蔓延程度而非嚴重性。這種病毒的影響目前較為溫和，但還是會傳染很多人。
The Geneva-based U.N. agency on Thursday raised the pandemic flu alert to six, the highest level, which indicates that the disease is spreading world-wide.
The decision, which followed a sharp rise in the number of confirmed cases in Australia Wednesday, was made at an emergency meeting the WHO held with its experts. The last flu pandemic was in 1968.
The declaration will require all countries, including the dozens that haven't yet reported any cases, to launch pandemic-prevention plans.
Around 35,000 cases of people infected with the H1N1 virus have now been reported in 74 countries, Margaret Chan, director general of the WHO, said Thursday.
'Further spread of the disease is inevitable,' Ms. Chan said. So far, the disease appears to be mild and the WHO doesn't expect a sudden or dramatic jump in the number of severe or fatal cases reported.
The agency is urging countries where the disease has already peaked to prepare for a second wave of infections.
Vaccine makers will finish production of seasonal vaccine, and full capacity of seasonal vaccine will therefore be available for the coming flu season in the Northern Hemisphere.
Ms. Chan said that Roche Holding AG, maker of antiviral drug Tamiflu, has made sizable donations of the drug to the organization. The WHO has distributed the first donations and is now getting a further 5.6 million doses from Roche for distribution. The WHO has also invited generic drug makers to start producing antiviral drugs, she added.
In Australia, the number of confirmed cases of swine flu has more than tripled in the past week, reaching 1,263 on Thursday, when three new cases were confirmed in the state of Tasmania. It recorded its first case of the disease on May 9.
'Australia catches our eye particularly not because of the number of cases but because of strong evidence of community transmission,' particularly in the southern state of Victoria and its capital, Melbourne, said Peter Cordingley, a spokesman for the World Health Organization based in Manila. He said the WHO is also focusing on similar evidence in the U.K., Spain, Japan and Chile.
In Hong Kong, the government on Thursday ordered the closure of all nurseries, kindergartens and primary schools for two weeks after a dozen students at one school tested positive for swine flu. Elsewhere in Asia, health officials in Thailand confirmed 30 new H1N1 cases, raising the total there to 46.
About half of the world's confirmed H1N1 cases, or 13,217, are in the U.S., including 27 deaths, according to the WHO.
Mr. Cordingley noted that the term pandemic was 'a measure of the spread of the virus, not the severity of the virus.' The virus's effects are moderate at the moment, he noted. 'But it's still going to infect an awful lot of people.'
【全文參考翻譯】
由於甲型H1N1流感的蔓延，世界衛生組織(WHO)宣布了40多年來首次流感大流行。
總部位於日內瓦的世衛組織周四將疫情警戒級別上調至最高的6級，這個級別表示這種疫病在世界範圍內蔓延。
澳大利亞周三確診病例劇增，隨後世衛組織召集專家舉行緊急會議作出上述決定。上一次流感大流行是在1968年。
宣布流感大流行將要求所有國家實施防疫計劃，尚未報告病例的國家也不例外。
世衛總幹事陳馮富珍(Margaret Chan)周四說，全球已有74個國家報告了3.5萬例感染甲型H1N1流感病毒的病例。
陳馮富珍說，這種疫病的進一步蔓延是無可避免的。這種疾病迄今為止顯得較為溫和，世衛預計危重和致死病例的數量不會突然或急劇增加。
世衛組織正敦促疫病已經達到高峰的國家準備應對第二波感染。
疫苗生產商將完成季節性疫苗的生產，這樣北半球即將來臨的流感季節將有足夠的季節性疫苗可用。
陳馮富珍說，生產抗病毒藥達菲(Tamiflu)的羅氏公司(Roche Holding Ag)已向世衛捐贈了大量這種藥品。世衛已經分發了首批捐贈的藥品，目前正從羅氏獲得又一批560萬劑達菲用於分發。陳馮富珍表示，世衛還邀請仿製藥生產商開始生產抗病毒藥。
澳大利亞過去一周確診病例人數增加了兩倍以上，截至周四達1,263例，周四在澳大利亞塔斯馬尼亞州新增3例確診病例。澳大利亞5月9日報告了首例確診病例。
世衛駐馬尼拉發言人考丁力(Peter Cordingley)說，澳大利亞引起我們注意的原因並不是因為病例的數量，而是存在群體性傳播的強烈跡象。他說，世衛同時也在關注英國、西班牙、日本和智利的類似跡象。
香港政府周四下令所有托兒所、幼兒園和小學關閉兩周，此前一所學校有十幾名學生被確診為甲型H1N1流感。泰國衛生官員確診30例新增病例，該國感染甲型H1N1流感的總人數達到46名。
世衛組織的數據顯示，全球甲型H1N1流感確診病例約有一半（13,217例）在美國，其中有27例死亡。
考丁力強調，“大流行”的說法隻是衡量病毒的蔓延程度而非嚴重性。這種病毒的影響目前較為溫和，但還是會傳染很多人。
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