Claim: World must prepare for inevitable next flu pandemic, WHO says.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: 2009 flu pandemic
text: in preparation. On 12 April 2010, Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's top influenza expert, stated that the system leading to the declaration of a pandemic led to confusion about H1N1 circulating around the world, and he expressed concern that there was a failure to communicate in regard to uncertainties about the new virus, which turned out to be not as deadly as feared. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan has appointed 29 flu experts from outside the organization to conduct a review of WHO's handling of the H1N1 flu pandemic. She has told them, "We want a frank, critical, transparent, credible and independent

title: Influenza pandemic
text: World Health Organization, the European Commission, the National Influenza Centers, and others. In September 2005, David Nabarro, a lead UN health official warned that a bird flu outbreak could happen anytime and had the potential to kill 5–150 million people. The World Health Organization (WHO), believing that the world was closer to another influenza pandemic than it has been any time since 1968, when the last of the 20th century's three pandemics swept the globe, has developed guidelines on pandemic influenza preparedness and response. The March 2005 plan includes guidance on roles and responsibilities in preparedness and response; information on

title: Bioterrorism
text: York Times" report, the Gates Foundation predicted that a modern outbreak similar to the Spanish Influenza pandemic (which killed between 50 million and 100 million people) could end up killing more than 360 million people worldwide, even considering widespread availability of vaccines and other healthcare tools. The report cited increased globalization, rapid international air travel, and urbanization as increased reasons for concern. In a March 9, 2017 interview with CNBC, former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, who was co-chair of the bipartisan Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, said a worldwide pandemic could end the lives of more people than a

title: 2009 flu pandemic
text: much to prepare for the current H1N1 flu outbreak, noting that after H5N1 emerged in Asia, ultimately killing about 60% of the few hundred people infected by it over the years, many countries took steps to try to prevent any similar crisis from spreading further. The CDC and other U.S. governmental agencies used the summer lull to take stock of the United States' response to H1N1 flu and attempt to patch any gaps in the public health safety net before flu season started in early autumn. Preparations included planning a second influenza vaccination program in addition to that for seasonal

title: 2009 flu pandemic timeline
text: 193 member states. "Had things gone wrong in any of these areas, we would have a very different agenda before us today," she added." US Researchers discover the mutation which had enabled the pandemic. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan officially declares the H1N1 pandemic over as countries are now seeing a mix of H1N1, H3N2, and B viruses, with some populaces displaying community-level immunity to H1N1 of 20% to 40%. Nevertheless, Angus Nicoll of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control urged health officials worldwide to "prepare for a new type of seasonal flu to appear in the near future

title: Influenza pandemic
text: the current portal: Pandemic Flu Search. On 26 August 2004, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson released a draft Pandemic Influenza Response and Preparedness Plan, which outlined a coordinated national strategy to prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic. Public comments were accepted for 60 days. In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly on 14 September 2005, President George W. Bush announced the creation of the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza. The Partnership brings together nations and international organizations to improve global readiness by: On 5 October 2005, Democratic Senators Harry Reid, Evan

title: 2009 flu pandemic timeline
text: Islands did not report." WHO At least 12,220 deaths globally are formally confirmed. (By contrast, the WHO estimates that the seasonal flu kills from 250,000 to 300,000 people around the world each year.) Overall, the activity of the H1N1 pandemic has peaked. WHO In Geneva Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the WHO, remarks in the context of the H5N1 bird flu virus that "The fact that the long overdue influenza pandemic is so moderate in its impact is probably the best health news of the decade" but that "No, the world is not ready for a pandemic to be caused

title: 2009 flu pandemic timeline
text: Dr. Margaret Chan states at the U.N.'s World Health Assembly that "We are just plain lucky ... This has been the case with the A/ H1N1 influenza pandemic... The virus did not mutate to a more lethal form. Cases of resistance to oseltamivir remained few and isolated. The vaccine closely matched circulating viruses and showed an excellent safety record," Chan said. "Emergency wards and intensive care units were often strained, few health systems were overwhelmed ... Schools closed, but borders remained open, and disruptions to travel and trade were far less severe than feared," she told delegates from the agency's

title: Pandemic H1N1/09 virus
text: (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan said that the virus must be closely monitored in the southern hemisphere, as it could mix with ordinary seasonal influenza and change in unpredictable ways. Experts writing in the July issue of "The New England Journal of Medicine" note that historically, pandemic viruses have evolved between seasons, and the current strain may become more severe or transmissible in the coming months. They therefore stress the importance of international cooperation to engage in proper surveillance to help monitor changes in the virus's behavior, which will aid in both "vaccine targeting" and interpreting illness patterns in the fall

title: Ali S. Khan
text: hemorrhagic fever, monkeypox, Rift Valley fever, avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the Asian tsunami, and the initial public health response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. In 2016 Khan published "The Next Pandemic" (with William Patrick). In it he recounts some of his experiences responding to outbreaks all over the world, including many of those mentioned above. Besides his personal experiences, he also provides a great deal of background information for readers interested in public health and emerging diseases. Ali S. Khan Rear Admiral Ali S. Khan is an American practicing physician and former Director of the Office

title: 2009 flu pandemic in the United States
text: World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have expressed serious concerns that the new strain has the potential to become an influenza pandemic. It is reported that, because the virus is already widespread, containment will be impossible. In addition, the flu death toll in Mexico could be lower than first thought, Gerald Evans, head of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada and a member of a federal pandemic-planning committee, said on April 29: There was a lot of speculation and what seemed to be evidence there were dozens and dozens

title: 2009 flu pandemic timeline
text: pandemic for the next six to 12 months," i.e. possibly into 2011. She also remarked that although the United States, Britain and Canada have passed through a second wave of H1N1, outbreaks in India, Egypt and elsewhere are intensifying, and reiterates that countries remain ill-prepared for a bird flu (H5N1) pandemic. More than 200 countries have now been affected by H1N1 with almost 12,000 confirmed deaths worldwide, although the vast majority of those infected recovered without special treatment. Philippines Mass vaccinations begin. US Only one state -Hawaii- reports local flu activity, and 28 states report no flu activity. WHO Director-General

title: World Health Organization
text: involving the H1N1 influenza virus was declared by the then Director-General Margaret Chan in April 2009. Margret Chan declared in 2010 that the H1N1 has moved into the post-pandemic period. By the post-pandemic period critics claimed the WHO had exaggerated the danger, spreading "fear and confusion" rather than "immediate information". Industry experts countered that the 2009 pandemic had led to "unprecedented collaboration between global health authorities, scientists and manufacturers, resulting in the most comprehensive pandemic response ever undertaken, with a number of vaccines approved for use three months after the pandemic declaration. This response was only possible because of the

title: Pandemic
text: similar to the Spanish Flu, or the lower mortality pandemics such as the Asian Flu and the Hong Kong Flu. From October 2004 to February 2005, some 3,700 test kits of the 1957 Asian Flu virus were accidentally spread around the world from a lab in the US. In May 2005, scientists urgently called upon nations to prepare for a global influenza pandemic that could strike as much as 20% of the world's population. In October 2005, cases of the avian flu (the deadly strain H5N1) were identified in Turkey. EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said: "We have received now

title: 2009 flu pandemic vaccine
text: need to use vaccines against the flu because the virus that is now circulating throughout Europe and North America does not have a pandemic nature." In his opinion, a vaccine could be produced, but said that preparing a vaccine now would be considered "practice," since the world would soon need a new vaccine against a new virus. "What's 16,000 sick people? During any flu season, some 10,000 a day become ill in Moscow alone," he said. After a meeting with the WHO on 14 May 2009, pharmaceutical companies said they were ready to begin making a swine flu vaccine. According

title: Influenza research
text: them, so far for humans, of little use. While there can be some cross-protection against related flu strains, the best protection would be from a vaccine specifically produced for any future pandemic flu virus strain. Dr. Daniel Lucey, co-director of the Biohazardous Threats and Emerging Diseases graduate program at Georgetown University has made this point, "There is no H5N1 pandemic so there can be no pandemic vaccine." However, "pre-pandemic vaccines" have been created; are being refined and tested; and do have some promise both in furthering research and preparedness for the next pandemic. Vaccine manufacturing companies are being encouraged to

title: GISAID
text: founder and principal facilitator. Bogner has been directing the build-up of this platform by bringing together the world's leading scientists and stakeholders who are actively committed to accelerating understanding of this potential human pandemic by rapidly sharing scientific data and results. On 2006-01-28 Bogner met with US Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and was told about the US Government's preparedness concept on dealing with the potential of a flu pandemic. Concerns about a pandemic scenario heightened. Since the inception of the Initiative, Bogner announced his plans to transition out of a

title: H5N1 vaccine
text: the case of a future pandemic of H5N1. While there can be some cross-protection against related flu strains, the best protection would be from a vaccine specifically produced for any future pandemic flu virus strain. Dr. Daniel Lucey, co-director of the Biohazardous Threats and Emerging Diseases graduate program at Georgetown University, has made this point, "There is no H5N1 pandemic so there can be no pandemic vaccine." However, "pre-pandemic vaccines" have been created; are being refined and tested; and do have some promise both in furthering research and preparedness for the next pandemic. Vaccine manufacturing companies are being encouraged to

title: Howard Markel
text: "World News", NBC's "Nightly News", "Nova", "Frontline", "NewsHour", BBC's "The World", CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, and History. The documentaries "Rx for Survival" (PBS), "We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918" (flu.gov), "Forgotten Ellis Island" (PBS), and PBS' Ken Burns and Siddhartha Mukherjee production of "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies" all feature Markel's commentary and expertise. Markel advises U.S. agencies studying past and planning for potential future influenza pandemics. From 2005 to 2006, Markel served as a historical consultant on pandemic influenza preparedness planning for the United States Department of Defense. From 2006 to 2016 he served as principal historical

title: Michael Osterholm
text: about the book. In 2001, Osterholm provided a comprehensive and pointed review of America's state of preparedness for a bioterrorism attack in his "New York Times" best-selling book, "Living Terrors: What America Needs to Know to Survive the Coming Bioterrorist Catastrophe". His invited papers in the journals "Foreign Affairs", the "New England Journal of Medicine", and "Nature" detailed the threat of an influenza pandemic before the 2009-10 pandemic and the steps we must take to better prepare for such events. He has also published multiple commentaries in "The New York Times", most recently on the repercussions of reductions in funding