# 1123
Yesterday Margaret Chan, Director General of the WHO, was misquoted by at least one news agency as saying the H5N1 virus would cause the next pandemic.
You can read about this in my post When Words Collide.
Last night I received a url to the transcript of Ms. Chan's speech, which should clarify matters. The AFP account, as I suspected, was correct.
Quoting the pertinent part of her speech:
""We have lived under the looming threat of an influenza pandemic for four years.
When resources are scarce and priorities are numerous, it is difficult to balance concern about an unpredictable yet potentially catastrophic event against the need to address so many real and pressing problems.
I am often asked if the effort invested in pandemic preparedness is a waste of resources. Has public health cried “wolf” too often and too loudly?
Not at all. Pandemics are recurring events. We do not know whether the H5N1 virus will cause the next pandemic.
But we do know this: the world will experience another influenza pandemic, sooner or later.
Recent concern has stimulated enormous research, and we know much more about influenza viruses and pandemics than we did four years ago. Moreover, public health must pay close attention to any severe new disease, like H5N1 avian influenza.
This disease is poorly understood, takes its toll on previously healthy children and young adults, and kills close to 64% of those infected.""
My thanks to Christine McNab, Acting Director of the Department of Communications of Director-General's Office for sending me this url.
