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WHO may declare end to H1N1 swine flu pandemic


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - The World Health Organization's emergency committee intends to convene as early as Tuesday to review data and declare an end to the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, Bloomberg News reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

    WHO Director General Margaret Chan must determine whether the swine flu still calls for extra vigilance in the absence of any indication it has become more lethal or developed a resistance to drugs that fight it.

    WHO spokesman Gregry Hartl told Bloomberg the decision would be based on the virus' pattern and that no date for an announcement has been set.

    Hartl could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment.

    Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, comes as a pill made by Roche Ag under licence from Gilead Sciences and is the most commonly used treatment.

    Swine flu emerged in early 2009 in the United States and Mexico and spread around the world in just six weeks, killing thousands of people. It hit children and young adults especially hard.

    A WHO spokesman could be immediately reached for comment.

    (Reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing by Bill Trott)