| Kippreport.com

WHO says swine flu spreading at “unbelievable” rate

August 29, 2009 7:30 by kippreport

Swine flu spreads four times faster than other viruses, the World Health Organization warned on Saturday. “This virus travels at an unbelievable, almost unheard of speed,” WHO director General Margaret Chan told France’s Le Monde in an interview. “In six weeks it travels the same distance that other viruses take six months to cover,” Chan said.

“Sixty percent of the deaths cover those who have underlying health problems,” Chan said. “This means that 40 percent of the fatalities concern young adults — in good health — who die of a viral fever in five to seven days.

“This is the most worrying fact,” she said, adding “up to 30 percent of people in densely populated countries risked getting infected.”

Chan’s statement came a day after the WHO said the virus had become the most prevalent flu strain in the world.

Tags: spread, swine flu, virus, WHO