THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Covid-19 '10 times deadlier than H1N1'

Covid-19 '10 times deadlier than H1N1'

The new coronavirus (Covid-19) is 10 times deadlier than swine flu ( H1N1), which became a global pandemic in 2009, the World Health Organisation said on Monday, calling for control measures to be lifted “slowly”.

WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing from Geneva that the organisation was constantly learning about the new virus sweeping the globe, which has now killed nearly 115,000 people and infected over 1.8 million.
WHO says 18,500 people died of "swine flu", or H1N1, which was first uncovered in Mexico and the United States in March 2009, but the Lancet medical estimated the toll to be between 151,700 and 575,400.

Tedros said that he was concerned about the number of new cases where patients were reinfected with Covid-19 within a period of only 3-4 days and urged all countries to invest in early detection of patients and at-risk groups, examine the disease and use quarantine to prevent the spread.

A vaccine safe and effective enough to prevent Covid-19 would take at least 12-18 months, WHO said.

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