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.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
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