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WHO declares first 21st century flu pandemic

Longer-term response now required to deal with outbreak that may last months or years.

Ottawa (12 June 2009) - The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an influenza pandemic on Thursday and called on governments around the world to prepare for a long-term battle against the H1N1 flu virus.

The United Nations agency raised its pandemic flu alert to Phase 6 on a six-point scale, declaring that the first influenza pandemic since 1968 is under way.

"With today's announcement, WHO moves from an emergency to a longer-term response. Based on past experience, this pandemic will be with us for some months, if not years, to come," WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said in Geneva.

Meanwhile, Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer, has been formally notified by WHO of the raised alert level but he said Thursday that it will not do much to change the way Canada is dealing with the situation. The decision only means the virus is spreading and not that it has become more dangerous, he said.

"We in Canada have been dealing with H1 since the beginning," he told The Canadian Press in an email. "So going from Level 5 to 6 only reflects broader spread internationally of what we have already seen."

People aged 30-50, pregnant women or people suffering from chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes or obesity are deemed at highest risk.

Crowding out seasonal flu

WHO says a growing number of countries are reporting that the virus, also known as swine flu, is "crowding out" seasonal flu, becoming the predominant influenza strain.

Canada has reported 533 newly confirmed swine H1N1 cases, including a spike in infections in an indigenous Inuit Arctic region, bringing the total cases close to 3,000.

Canada's Public Health Agency published its new total of 2,978 confirmed cases of the A(H1N1) virus on Wednesday. No official indication by Canadian officials was given as to why the surge occurred in the indigenous communities, but the Inuit cases are being watched closely by the World Health Organization.

As of Wednesday four people with swine flu have died in Canada and 138 others have required hospitalization.

In Manitoba, Health Canada says it may have to close health stations at the centre of the province's severe flu outbreak if more nurses can’t be found.

The department has put out a tender for nurses to work in 24 northern Manitoba reserves, saying it is having “great difficulty” finding nurses to work up North.

Dozens of people from some reserves have been airlifted and hospitalized with severe flu-like symptoms and some cases have been confirmed as H1N1 flu.

The outbreak is being monitored across Canada by The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) and its component unions, including the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). Visit OPSEU's H1N1 Flu Watch page.

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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE