Swine flu pandemic alert issued by WHO after cases skyrocket in Australia and Chile

June 11, 9:00 AMChicago International Travel ExaminerDennis D. Jacobs

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A kindergartener wearing a mask as a precaution against swine flu washes her hands before going into a class at a kindergarten in Hong Kong Thursday, June 11, 2009. Hong Kong's government on Thursday ordered all kindergartens and primary schools closed for two weeks after a dozen students tested positive for the swine flu in the territory's first local cluster of cases. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
 

The World Health Organization has declares the first pandemic in 41 years based on a dramatic rise in the number of confirmed cases of swine flu in Australia and Chile.

In the most recent 48-hour reporting period that ended Wednesday, Chile reported 1,283 new cases of swine flu, including one death, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 1,694. The death was the second in Chile from complications of the H1N1 virus.

Australia reported 173 new swine flu cases, raising its total to 1,224. No deaths have been reported in Australia from the virus.

In Chile, health officials said the virus is causing serious complications in about two percent of cases. Although no one has died in Australia, health officials there noted that the virus can result in serious illness, and a number of people have required hospitalization.

Both nations are in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is late fall and the flu season is in its early phases.

The WHO held an emergency meeting in Geneva Thursday to discuss the situation. WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan then announced the pandemic declaration at a news conference at 11 a.m. CDT.

The Hong Kong Flu pandemic of 1968 killed one million people. So far, the swine flu does not seem as potentially deadly, and WHO officials have been quick to point out in recent days that a pandemic declaration reflects only the geographic spread of an illness, not its severity.

Despite the imminent arrival of summer, the virus also continues to spread in the Northern Hemisphere, though more slowly. Hong Kong announced Thursday that it was closing all of its elementary schools for two weeks after 12 students were confirmed to have H1N1 infections.

Worldwide, 27,737 swine flu cases have been confirmed in 74 countries. The United States will not release new figures on cases in this country until Friday.