'Too soon' for swine flu cost estimate: WB
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2009 (AFP): The World Bank Tuesday said it was too early to make an accurate cost estimate of the global economic impact of the rapidly spreading swine flu outbreak.
"The situation's evolving constantly and it's just too soon to try and get anything approaching an accurate assessment of the global impact," Phil Hay, a World Bank health spokesman, told AFP.
"The bank's number-one priority is people's health and lives. The bank continues to monitor the global and regional situation very carefully, with the World Health Organization leading the global and regional health response," Hay said.
"The priority now is to help Mexico manage its evolving situation with swine flu. The WB will support Mexico's efforts to fight the spread of the swine flu virus with more than 205 million dollars in fast-disbursing funds."
The WB announced Sunday a 205-million-dollar loan for Mexico to help the country deal with the deadly swine flu outbreak.
Meanwhile, Asia tightened its already strict measures to keep swine flu from spreading across the region Tuesday, after the World Health Organization warned of a significant increase in the risk of a pandemic.
New Zealand confirmed three cases among 11 who are assumed to have caught the virus as the number of suspected infections across the region jumped.
Australia said it was probing 70 possible infections among those who had recently returned from Mexico or the United States. South Korea reported a single case and Thai medical authorities placed a woman in quarantine in hospital for tests.
Hong Kong said it was testing four people as queues formed outside pharmacies with residents, spurred by memories of the deadly SARS virus, stocking up on medical supplies to counter any potential swine flu outbreak.
New Zealand confirmed three cases after samples from nine students and a teacher from Auckland high school Rangitoto College, who had earlier tested positive for influenza A, were tested for swine flu at a Melbourne laboratory.
An 11th person from the school was also reported by Auckland health authorities to have tested positive for influenza A on Tuesday evening.
Bloomberg adds, Crude oil, industrial metals and some grains dropped for a second day on speculation a global outbreak of swine flu will derail efforts to shore up economies, curbing demand for raw materials.
Corn declined and hogs also fell in Chicago trading on expectations that pork and animal-feed consumption will sag.
"The situation's evolving constantly and it's just too soon to try and get anything approaching an accurate assessment of the global impact," Phil Hay, a World Bank health spokesman, told AFP.
"The bank's number-one priority is people's health and lives. The bank continues to monitor the global and regional situation very carefully, with the World Health Organization leading the global and regional health response," Hay said.
"The priority now is to help Mexico manage its evolving situation with swine flu. The WB will support Mexico's efforts to fight the spread of the swine flu virus with more than 205 million dollars in fast-disbursing funds."
The WB announced Sunday a 205-million-dollar loan for Mexico to help the country deal with the deadly swine flu outbreak.
Meanwhile, Asia tightened its already strict measures to keep swine flu from spreading across the region Tuesday, after the World Health Organization warned of a significant increase in the risk of a pandemic.
New Zealand confirmed three cases among 11 who are assumed to have caught the virus as the number of suspected infections across the region jumped.
Australia said it was probing 70 possible infections among those who had recently returned from Mexico or the United States. South Korea reported a single case and Thai medical authorities placed a woman in quarantine in hospital for tests.
Hong Kong said it was testing four people as queues formed outside pharmacies with residents, spurred by memories of the deadly SARS virus, stocking up on medical supplies to counter any potential swine flu outbreak.
New Zealand confirmed three cases after samples from nine students and a teacher from Auckland high school Rangitoto College, who had earlier tested positive for influenza A, were tested for swine flu at a Melbourne laboratory.
An 11th person from the school was also reported by Auckland health authorities to have tested positive for influenza A on Tuesday evening.
Bloomberg adds, Crude oil, industrial metals and some grains dropped for a second day on speculation a global outbreak of swine flu will derail efforts to shore up economies, curbing demand for raw materials.
Corn declined and hogs also fell in Chicago trading on expectations that pork and animal-feed consumption will sag.