2009-06-10

By Editor, CIR

The head of the World Health Organisation is to consult governments over a potential change to the international alert on the swine flu outbreak.

WHO director-general Margaret Chan said she believes the spread may have reached pandemic level. She plans to consult with governments before making a formal announcement.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health commented: ''The localised cases of swine flu found in the UK have, in the majority of cases, not been severe and we have not seen evidence of widespread community transmission. We are continuing to work to slow the spread of the disease and to put in place arrangements to ensure that the UK is well placed to deal with this new infection. We must not be complacent -- it is right to prepare for the possibility of a global pandemic.

"Clearly, the WHO declaring an official pandemic would be a serious development. However, the WHO alert levels reflect the global view, and any action taken in the UK would be based on the situation here. We are monitoring the situation constantly and if anything changes we will react accordingly."

To date there have been 435 confirmed cases in England, 264 in Scotland, six in Northern Ireland and two in Wales. Another 504 possible cases are under investigation.

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