World Health Organization not ready to declare swine flu pandemic over

Despite weeks of decreasing swine flu cases, it is "premature" to declare the global pandemic over, members of a World Health Organization advisory panel said this week. The committee, made of up doctors and experts from around the world, met to review and, if appropriate, update the status of the pandemic, which has been in effect since April of 2009. The verdict: Stay the course, with a few minor adjustments to the wording of several warnings and advisories.

Indeed, the committee seemed unconvinced that swine flu cases worldwide are even on the decline, despite the findings of other public health organizations, including the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Committee members said they spent their time "asking additional questions and reviewing the evidence and holding extensive discussion." Ultimately, committee members said they found "mixed evidence" showing declining or low pandemic activity in many countries, but new community level transmission activity in West Africa. Additionally, they expressed concern that the winter months of the Southern Hemisphere had not yet started and they didn't want to undermine swine flu preparations in case there were more swine flu outbreaks.

It was enough to convince WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan to hold steady: "Having considered these views, the current epidemiological evidence and other relevant information, the Director-General determined that there had been no change in the pandemic phase, and decided to continue to monitor the situation and developments closely and to convene the Committee again within the next several weeks," the WHO said in a release this week.

The issue is a sensitive one for the WHO. Earlier this month the organization found itself on the hot seat, defending itself against claims that it recklessly declared the swine flu a pandemic to enrich the pharmaceutical companies that had a financial stake in developing a vaccine. A representative from the global public health organization testified in hearings before the Council of Europe, fighting back against claims that it "squander(ed) tight health care resources for inefficient vaccine strategies and needlessly exposed millions of healthy people to the risk of unknown side effects of insufficiently tested vaccines," when it declared the pandemic.

But the WHO clearly isn't going to let itself be bullied into calling off the swine flu pandemic before it's good and ready. The emergency committee did decide to advise countries to "maintain" their swine flu surveillance, which replaces the recommendation that countries "intensify" their surveillance. The following temporary recommendations also stay in place:
countries should not close borders or restrict international traffic and trade;
maintain surveillance of unusual flu-like illness and severe pneumonia;
if ill, it is prudent to delay travel.

What do you think? Is the pandemic over, or was it even a pandemic in the first place?

Photo Credit: hmerinomx