Swine Flu !
Excerpts from the Telegraph (mostly the scary bits):
Swine flu: 'All of humanity under threat', WHO warns
The World Health Organisation has warned that "all of humanity is under threat" from a potential swine flu pandemic and called for "global solidarity" to combat the virus.
The plea came as the WHO raised the swine flu threat awareness level to 5 out of 6, indicating that the world is on the brink of a pandemic.
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...a further "probable" case of swine flu has emerged in Glasgow, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond told MSPs today.
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Dr Chan said that the world was better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history.
However, she warned that the threat "must be taken seriously" due to the ability of the swine flu swine flu virus to spread rapidly across the world.
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...there are now five confirmed cases of swine flu in Britain.
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The UK will see "many more cases" of swine flu as the virus spreads but most people will make a good recovery, the Government's Chief Medical Officer said today.
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He added that if swine flu does reach pandemic levels the scenario might not be as bad as people expect.
He said: "We've been thinking of pandemic as shock, horror, millions of people will die.
"Of course it may not be quite as bad as that. It may still be a pandemic with an ordinary flu virus that affects a lot of people and will still unfortunately kill people that are in the high risk groups."
He said it could take four or five months to develop a vaccine against the virus.
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With an elevated pandemic alert level, WHO might also issue travel advisories, warning against non-essential travel to regions battling outbreaks, trade restrictions, the cancellation of public events or border closures.
Swine flu: 'All of humanity under threat', WHO warns
The World Health Organisation has warned that "all of humanity is under threat" from a potential swine flu pandemic and called for "global solidarity" to combat the virus.
The plea came as the WHO raised the swine flu threat awareness level to 5 out of 6, indicating that the world is on the brink of a pandemic.
====
...a further "probable" case of swine flu has emerged in Glasgow, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond told MSPs today.
=====
Dr Chan said that the world was better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history.
However, she warned that the threat "must be taken seriously" due to the ability of the swine flu swine flu virus to spread rapidly across the world.
===
...there are now five confirmed cases of swine flu in Britain.
===
The UK will see "many more cases" of swine flu as the virus spreads but most people will make a good recovery, the Government's Chief Medical Officer said today.
===
He added that if swine flu does reach pandemic levels the scenario might not be as bad as people expect.
He said: "We've been thinking of pandemic as shock, horror, millions of people will die.
"Of course it may not be quite as bad as that. It may still be a pandemic with an ordinary flu virus that affects a lot of people and will still unfortunately kill people that are in the high risk groups."
He said it could take four or five months to develop a vaccine against the virus.
===
With an elevated pandemic alert level, WHO might also issue travel advisories, warning against non-essential travel to regions battling outbreaks, trade restrictions, the cancellation of public events or border closures.