The recent discovery of an outbreak in Chilean turkey farms also raised concerns that swine flu could combine with avian influenza and become a more dangerous virus, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.
“The current H1N1 virus strain is a mixture of human, pig and bird [flu] genes and has proved to be very contagious but no more deadly than common seasonal flu viruses,” the Rome-based agency said in a statement.
“However, it could theoretically become more dangerous if it adds virulence by combining with H5N1, commonly known as avian flu, which is far more deadly but harder to pass along among humans,” it said.
The FAO said Chile did not have avian influenza, also known as bird flu, and the turkeys represented the first case of H1N1 among birds.
Around the world at least 2,185 people have died from swine flu, an official from the WHO said yesterday. However a spokesman said the latest figure “understates” the total number of deaths.
Britain and France have received their first batches of swine flu vaccine, officials said on Thursday, as governments began to arm themselves against a second wave of the pandemic in the northern winter.
Doses to combat the pandemic arrived as millions of schoolchildren prepared to return to school in the next two weeks, with concerns that the virus could spread easily between classrooms.
In South Korea, the education ministry announced that all elementary and secondary schoolchildren — 7.5 million students at 11,000 schools — will have their temperature checked daily to combat the spread of H1N1 when they return to school next week.
British and French health officials said the H1N1 vaccine should win licensing approval for distribution in their countries by October.
Belgium said it would get its first doses next month.
Spain said on Thursday it planned to start swine flu vaccinations in late October or early November, as the country recorded its 20th death from the illness.
The first shipment of swine flu vaccine is expected to arrive in New Zealand early next month and vaccinations are likely to start early next year, officials said yesterday.
The government of Nicaragua has declared a 60-day health emergency because of an upswing in the number of cases and deaths.
Health Minister Guillermo Gonzalez told the Radio Ya station that the measure was declared after the number of accumulated cases rose to 840 cases this month, and four women have died since Aug. 14.
Australia yesterday said a massive swine flu vaccination program would start in October, but warned of a possible “second wave” of infections in the hard-hit country.
Chief medical officer Jim Bishop said he was hopeful A(H1N1) influenza had peaked, with 147 related deaths and almost 35,000 cases, but cautioned it could surge again.
However, the swine flu could re-emerge next year in a more deadly form, an expert said on Thursday.
“We should get through the winter relatively easily, I don’t think the virus will mutate before then,” said John Oxford, a professor of virology at Britain’s St Bartholomew’s and the Royal London Hospital.
“For the moment, the virus is running around the world finding lots of young people and infecting them. It is doing very nicely, thank you, why should it change?” he said by telephone.
“Once the virus has infected about a third of the world’s population — which is what we expect — it will find less ‘susceptibles.’ That is when mutants will have a selective advantage,” he said.
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures. The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.” The decision goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said. Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible and correct the erroneous designation to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said. The issue could damage Denmark’s image and business reputation in Taiwan,
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
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