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May 30, 2003

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

“Forget SARS: WHO Expert Fears the Flu”

Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) (05/29/03) P. B1; Naik, Gautam

A scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO) is more concerned about the prospect of a worldwide influenza outbreak than he is over the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).  Dr. Klaus Stohr, leader of the WHO's influenza program and head of the agency's SARS investigation, says the influenza crisis poses a greater threat to world health than SARS right now.  Many countries, especially developing nations, have flawed flu pandemic surveillance systems, and because of this, Stohr fears that a flu pandemic could quickly evolve into a major public health crisis.  He and other scientists worry that with the increase in global travel and close quarters in urban settings, the transmission of influenza could take place at a rapid fire pace, making the task of containment nearly impossible.  In the event of another prolonged influenza pandemic, the WHO estimates that it could result in the hospitalization of 2.3 million people and the deaths of 650,000 people in less than two years in developed nations alone.