Friday, May 15, 2009

The WHO and the Flu



[Above: The WHO pandemic alert chart]


Did the World Health Organization overreact when it cranked up the worldwide H1N1 flu alert to phase 5, the stage right before declaration of a worldwide pandemic?

This article today in Slate suggests that it did, saying that the WHO engaged in "scary speculation" over an outbreak of what, so far, appears to be a mild strain of flu. But this story isn't over yet, and the flu continues to spread.

The WHO is starting to sound a bit defensive on the subject, saying that the H1N1 strain formerly known as swine flu "appears to be more contagious than seasonal influenza."

Here's the latest WHO update on the flu.

The number of cases jumped in the last day. See this from the Raw Story.


###

No comments: