H1N1 Swine Flu Could Affect Third of the World, Says UN Official

Keiji Fukuda, acting assistant director-general for the World Health Organization (WHO), also said it was “quite likely” the WHO would declare a pandemic in the near future but a final decision had not been made.

“This is a disease that could potentially infect a third or more of the world's population in the next several months, in the next year,” Mr. Fukuda told Asian health officials meeting in Bangkok by conference call from Geneva.

He added that “even if the illnesses appear relatively mild on a global level, the global population level adds up to enormous numbers.”

"Meat from sick pigs or pigs found dead should not be processed or used for human consumption under any circumstances," he told Reuters.

It is possible for flu viruses such as the new H1N1 strain to survive the freezing process and be present in thawed meat, as well as in blood, the expert said. But he stressed that there was no risk of infection from eating or handling pork so long as normal precautions were adhered to.

The Winnipeg lab's results -- taken from samples collected from Nova Scotia, Ontario and Mexico -- suggest the H1N1 virus is essentially the same in Canada as it is in Mexico.

"There's nothing at the genetic level that differentiates this virus between the samples from Mexico and Canada," Plummer said. "Therefore it's not likely the virus itself that's explaining the differential in severity between Mexico and the rest of North America."