Commuters wearing masks as a precaution against the swine flu walk through a station in the morning rush hour in Kobe, western Japan GENEVA: The World Health Organisation will on Friday consult its emergency flu committee of experts on whether the agency should declare a fully-fledgedpandemic, a spokeswoman said.
"The emergency committee has been convened today from 2 to 3 pm," said Fadela Chaib, adding that the agenda of the committee, would be on the "severity of H1N1 and also to review international health-related measures."
The total number of H1N1 flu cases has soared to 21,939 and the WHO has so far held back from declaring a full-fledged H1N1 flu pandemic after raising its six-grade alert level to five at the end of April, signalling that a pandemic was imminent.
Citing news that Japan has seen almost 250 infected cases to date, Mr Khaw stressed the need for Singaporeans to maintain a high level of hygiene.
Mr Khaw said: "The Japanese outbreak further reinforces our observations about this H1N1. Particularly countries like Singapore that is so heavily globalised. It's going to happen, it's a matter of time.
“But we can take comfort that so far the illness remains mild. So it doesn't mean that we should be careless about it. We should continue to be vigilant. But it also means that we don't have to be so worried.”
Mr Khaw was at My 1st Skoolchild care centre in Whampoa Drive on Thursday to drive home the importance of cleanliness.
A recent poll conducted by the government to gauge how Singaporeans view the influenza threat showed that almost half of the respondents would feel some degree of worry should the first case occur here.
Mr Khaw also urged those who travel to be responsible.
He said: “If you have just been travelling, and you come back and you have the symptom, please call 993. It is very important. Don't go around shopping or go to crowded clinics. Then you'll be infecting many patients there. Call 993 and we'll bring you to the hospital and check, if it is this virus. If it is, then we will treat you. And there are effective treatment.”
The H1N1 virus has infected more than 10,000 people in 41 countries to date.
Train commuters wear masks as a precaution against H1N1 flu in Kobe, western Japan.
TOKYO : Japan's Influenza A (H1N1) flu epidemic spread to the capital Tokyo as a 16-year-old high school girl there tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, the metropolitan administration said.
"The girl lives in the western suburbs of Hachioji and has recently visited the US city of New York," said Toyomi Harada, a spokesman for the city's welfare and health department.
Japanese cases of the (A)H1N1 virus had been concentrated in the western prefectures of Hyogo, Osaka and Shiga with the number rising to 232 on Wednesday. - AFP/ms
Pedestrians wear masks as a precaution against H1N1 flu in Japan.
KOBE, Japan - The number of Influenza A (H1N1) infections in Japan rose to 228 on Wednesday, most of them school students, as the outbreak spread to a third western prefecture, officials said.
The western commercial hub of Kobe remained the worst affected, announcing more than 20 new infections of the A (H1N1) virus among roughly three dozen new cases confirmed in Japan in the morning.
The western prefecture of Shiga became the third locality to confirm a H1N1 flu infection in Japan, with a man in his 20s, who returned from a weekend trip to Kobe, testing positive for the virus.
Japan's first domestic cases of the virus were confirmed last weekend in Kobe and Osaka, where they spread quickly in and between two high schools that had met for a volleyball tournament.
Kyodo news agency earlier reported that 86 per cent of cases detected so far in Japan were between the ages of 10 and 19 -- making it more prevalent among youth in Japan than it is in the United States.
People wear masks on their way to work in Kobe, Japan.
GENEVA - Mexico's Influenza A (H1N1) death toll rose by four as the virus continued to spread through Latin America and made inroads in Asia, with the number of Japanese infections topping 200 on Wednesday.
In the United States, a man who recently travelled to Mexico may have become the country's 8th casualty when he died Tuesday after contracting the A(H1N1) virus, according to health officials and local media reports.
The number of people who have died of the virus in Mexico hit 74 while confirmed infections in the country, the epicentre of the outbreak, rose by almost 100 in 24 hours to 3,660, health authorities said.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon urged people to remain vigilant against A(H1N1) because previous pandemics had shown flu outbreaks could start mild and worsen.
"That is why the world must remain vigilant and alert to the warning signs," Ban said as he addressed the World Health Organisation's annual assembly in Geneva.
The outbreak spread to a third western prefecture in Japan and experts warned it may also have reached Tokyo, which with almost 36 million people is the world's most populous urban area.
Face masks have become ubiquitous on buses, commuter trains and in shopping centres of affected areas in Japan where 228 people have been infected.
Many of the cases have been among school students, prompting authorities to close more than 4,400 schools, colleges and kindergartens for the rest of the week to slow the spread of the virus.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan announced its first confirmed case, an Australian male doctor who had arrived by plane from Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, Australia itself reported two new cases, including a boy aged nine, raising its overall number of confirmed infections to three.
The boy had returned to Melbourne city with his family on a flight from Los Angeles on May 12, and began showing flu-like symptoms this week, Victoria state health officials said.
In Japan, the western commercial hub of Kobe remained the worst affected, announcing more than 20 new infections of the A (H1N1) virus among roughly three dozen new cases confirmed in the country Wednesday morning.
The western prefecture of Shiga became the third locality to confirm an infection, with a man in his 20s, who returned from a weekend trip to Kobe, testing positive for the virus.
Japan's first domestic cases of the virus were confirmed last weekend in Kobe and Osaka, where they spread quickly in and between two high schools that had met for a volleyball tournament.
The UN health agency said Tuesday that cases across the world had soared by more than 1,000 since the previous day with 9,830 infections now reported in 40 countries, including 79 deaths.
The Mexican health minister did, however, note that officials believe the A(H1N1) virus there is on the wane. Still, 12 confirmed cases in Colombia and another 10 in Chile suggested the virus was spreading across Latin America.
A 14-month-old Canadian child who arrived in Cuba from Toronto became the fourth case of A(H1N1) flu on the island.
The WHO has so far resisted pressure to declare a full-fledged A(H1N1) flu pandemic, but anxiety about the spread of the virus -- especially in Asia and the Americas -- is growing.
Ban has been in talks with the leaders of some of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies on the development of a vaccine.
About 30 vaccine makers from 19 industrialised and developing countries were invited by the WHO to Tuesday's discussions, which officials said focused on the cost of the vaccine and its availability in vulnerable poor countries.
Ban told the WHO's assembly afterwards that partnerships with the private sector would be "absolutely vital".
"Solidarity in the face of this particular outbreak must mean that all have access to drugs and vaccines," he told the group's 193 member states. "It means that virus samples and data are shared."
The WHO has been weighing the risks of halting production of the seasonal flu virus to free up production capacity for a A(H1N1) flu vaccine.
Schools in Japan carry out a massive clean-up to battle the H1N1 outbreak KOBE, Japan: Japan closed more than 4,000 schools and kindergartens on Tuesday, double the previous day's number, to slow the spread of H1N1 flu which has infected 173 people in the country, officials said.
Many people in the affected urban areas were wearing face masks after the western cities of Kobe and Osaka became the first in Japan to suffer domestic outbreaks of the (A)H1N1 virus which spread rapidly through two schools.
A total of 4,043 schools and kindergartens were closed in and around both cities at the request of government authorities, up from some 2,000 on Monday, an education ministry official said.
Japan's number of confirmed cases has risen to 173 – the fourth largest national figure on the world infection table – in the central Honshu island region since the first confirmed domestic infection was reported on Saturday.
No fatalities have been reported in Japan.
Experts warn the virus would likely soon spread to other regions, including the capital Tokyo, which with almost 36 million people, is the world's most populous urban area and the heart of the Japanese economy.
The virus is believed to have spread between Kobe and nearby Osaka after high schools from the two cities met for a volleyball tournament, with some players and coaches feeling feverish after the games.
Japan's first confirmed cases of H1N1 flu were four people who tested positive after they flew in from North America earlier this month. They were immediately quarantined along with about 50 fellow passengers.
Commuters wearing masks as a precaution against the swine flu walk through a station in the morning rush hour in Kobe, western Japan
Commuters wearing masks as a precaution against the swine flu walk through a station in the morning rush hour in Kobe, western Japan
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