# 4197
Given that none of the pandemics of the 20th century were over in less than a year, it is hardly surprising that the Director-General of the WHO (World Health Organization) - Margaret Chan - is unwilling to declare victory now that the virus appears to be receding in North America and and parts of Europe.
It isn’t lost on scientists that in 1957, the Asian Flu pandemic seemed to disappear completely for more than a year, only to return in 1959 and again after a two year lull during the 1962-63 flu season.
Today, Director General Chan stated that it will take another 6 months to a year to know if this pandemic is truly on the wane, and she reminds us that we are not ready for a more severe H5N1 pandemic.
This report from AFP.
WHO chief says too early to declare flu victory
December 29, 2009 - 8:59PM
World Health Organisation chief Margaret Chan said Tuesday it was too early to declare victory over swine flu and insisted that measures taken to deal with the pandemic were justified.
"I think that we must remain prudent and observe the evolution of the pandemic over the next six to 12 months before declaring victory," she told Swiss newspaper Le Temps in an interview.
Even though the peak of the flu has passed in some countries of the northern hemisphere, such as Canada and the United States, others countries were far from seeing the end, she noted.
"Winter is still long," said the WHO director-general, adding that a precise picture of the flu's impact would not be seen before two years.
