The World Health Organisation on Monday resisted pressure to declare a full-fledged swine flu pandemic even as cases in Japan and the United States soared and a New York teacher died of the virus. WHO chief Margaret Chan told member states on the first day of the UN health body's annual assembly they may be facing a "calm before ...

GENEVA (Reuters) - The H1N1 flu virus is likely to keep spreading rapidly between people, within countries and across the globe, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan told her United Nations agency's annual meeting that the new strain may pose particular risks when it mixes with the H5N1 flu virus, which has ...

The World Health Organization's director urged countries Friday to share swine flu samples, warning that the virus could become more severe as it spreads around the globe. WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan praised countries for their aggressive response to the new flu virus. "Their timely sharing of viruses for risk assessment and analysis and for making seed vaccine is ...

The head of the World Health Organisation warned on Monday that swine flu could return with a vengeance despite Mexico's President Felipe Calderon insisting his country has contained the epidemic. WHO chief Margaret Chan said in a newspaper interview that a second wave of the virus "would be the biggest of all outbreaks the world has faced in the ...

World Health Organization chief Dr. Margaret Chan has earned a reputation for ruthlessness when it comes to battling viruses. Her decision to slaughter 1.5 million birds in three days to stamp out the first human outbreak of bird flu in Hong Kong may well have stopped the virus from mutating into a deadly strain. The world may need similar ...