Officials concerned over flu potential

NEW YORK, May 1 (UPI) -- As governments worldwide hasten to meet swine flu head-on, officials eye the possibility of the virus evolving into an especially lethal strain, observers say.

The Wall Street Journal says that if the spreading flu strain, known officially as A/H1N1, does develop in like that the consequences could overwhelm even the most advanced health systems in the United States and other Western countries.

Also, no matter what the intensity might be, governments and public-health officials on high alert would be using lessons learned from past outbreaks to mitigate the impact of the new virus, the report said.

Stockpiles of anti-viral drugs such as Tamiflu could be a strong weapon against a pandemic. Britain and France, for example, have enough of the medicine on hand to treat 54 percent of their people, Austria has antivirals for 40 percent of its population and Japan 28 percent.

The United States reportedly has enough anti-viral medication in reserve to treat 50 million people, or about 16 percent of its population.

Learning from such events as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and the SARS and avian flu epidemics, U.S. officials also have poured some $7 billion into strengthening the country's public-health infrastructure, the Journal said.

Officials say African nations, with scarce resources, poorly organized health systems and populations battling other diseases, would be especially vulnerable.

The World Health Organization's regional office has about 1 million anti-viral doses available.