Swine flu spreading at 'unbelievable' rate

Swine flu spreads four times faster than other viruses and 40 per cent of the fatalities are young adults in good health, the world's top health official warned in an interview that appeared yesterday.

"This virus travels at an unbelievable, almost unheard of speed," World Health Organisation director general Margaret Chan told France's Le Monde daily in an interview.

"In six weeks it travels the same distance that other viruses take six months to cover," Chan said.

"Sixty per cent of the deaths cover those who have underlying health problems," Chan said. "This means that 40 per cent 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 that "up to 30 per cent of people in densely populated countries risked getting infected."

Chan's warning came a day after the WHO said the virus had overtaken others to become the most prevalent flu strain.

"Evidence from multiple outbreak sites demonstrates that the A(H1N1) pandemic virus has rapidly established itself and is now the dominant influenza strain in most parts of the world," the UN agency said in a statement.

"The pandemic will persist in the coming months as the virus continues to move through susceptible populations," it added.

Chan underlined that emergency and healthcare services in several countries had come under strain and stressed that resources allocated for cancer patients and those suffering from heart disease should not be diverted.

"One must not rob Peter to pay Paul," she said. "All governments must prepare for the worst."

She said the most important thing in the battle against the virus was "political leadership."

More than 2,180 people around the world have died from the virus since it emerged in April, according to the latest WHO figures.

Chan also said that it could be months before sufficient vaccines are available to combat the pandemic.

She put world production capacity at 900 million doses a year, for a global population of 6.8 billion people.