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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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WHO Gives Up on Counting Swine Flu Cases

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(Newser) – The World Health Organization today instructed member nations to stop counting cases of the rapidly spreading swine flu pandemic and focus instead on the most serious, Reuters reports. “Trying to register and report every single case is a huge waste of resources,” a spokesman said. Authorities should continue to report clusters of infections, unusual cases, and “a more severe disease pattern.”

“The 2009 influenza pandemic has spread internationally with unprecedented speed,” the WHO says. “In past pandemics, influenza viruses have needed more than six months to spread as widely as the new H1N1 virus has spread in less than six weeks.” Given the worldwide scope, close tracking is no longer valuable, and the WHO will stop reporting global numbers, focusing instead on information from newly affected countries.

Tourists, some wearing face masks as a precaution against swine flu, arrive at the Buenos Aires international airport.
Tourists, some wearing face masks as a precaution against swine flu, arrive at the Buenos Aires international airport.   (AP Photo)
Two Myanmar men wear face masks as they enjoy a light breakfast at a tea shop in Yangon, Myanmar.
Two Myanmar men wear face masks as they enjoy a light breakfast at a tea shop in Yangon, Myanmar.   (AP Photo)
The WHO says it will shift the focus to research like that done at the P4 European High Level Security Laboratory (EHLS) in Lyon, central France.
The WHO says it will shift the focus to research like that done at the P4 European High Level Security Laboratory (EHLS) in Lyon, central France.   (AP Photo)
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6 comments
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Unaffiliated
Jul 16, 09 1:56 PM CDT
Those masks will do no good to prevent you from contracting H1N1. Just wash your hands and cover your mouth when you sneeze/cough. Reply
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Unaffiliated
Jul 16, 09 1:57 PM CDT
The reason doctors wear them is to prevent spreading germs to their patients, not to protect themselves from their patients' germs.
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+3
IN RESPONSE:
martintb
Jul 16, 09 8:45 PM CDT
Thank you so much. I hate the whole mask thing because it gives people a false sense of security. I'm actually working in China right now so I see people walking around with them on a daily basis. I feel bad that all of these people have been misled. I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure the pores in the masks are more than large enough to let bacteria through.
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Doctor_Zaius
Jul 16, 09 6:20 PM CDT
It's 1918 all over again. It's not even flu season. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
Deebles
Jul 16, 09 9:39 PM CDT
Boy are you right. Thank goodness there isn't a world war ending for all those massed soldiers to contract it and take it back home.
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