Swine flu kills 2,837, virus not mutated: WHO

GENEVA : H1N1 flu has killed at least 2,837 people but is not causing more severe illness than previously and the virus has not mutated, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
The WHO is carefully monitoring the virus to detect any mutation which might signal that it has become more deadly.
"There is no sense that the virus has mutated or changed in any sense," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told a news briefing. "We are continuing to see increased number of deaths because we are seeing many, many more cases."
About a quarter of a million cases have been laboratory-confirmed worldwide, but this is far fewer than the true number according to the United Nations agency which has stopped requiring countries to report individual cases.
One-dose vaccine
A WHO weekly statement on the latest strain, commonly known as swine flu, is expected later on Friday. The agency's previous update of Aug. 28 showed at least 2,185 deaths.
In the meantime, a Swiss drug maker may be able to provide a one-dose H1N1 vaccine instead of the two-dose inoculation required previously, the company said Thursday.
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. of Basel, Switzerland, said, based on studies conducted through the University of Leicester, it may be able to protect people from A(H1N1) infections within two weeks following administration of a one-time vaccine.
Further clinical experimentation on more than 6,000 children and adults was being conducted worldwide, the company said.
"The study suggests that while two doses seem to provide better protection, one dose of our adjuvant Celtura vaccine may be sufficient to protect adults against the swine flu. This is important information for public health authorities who prepare for vaccination in the coming months with limited vaccine supply," said Dr. Andrin Oswald, chief executive officer of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics.