The current influenza A/H1N1 may not be that serious and there is no need to overreact with panic, Bernard Vallat, director general of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said on Friday.

During an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Vallat called on nations not to butcher pigs in large scale or restrict the pork trade, and suggested the public be careful about personal sanitation in their daily life to keep away from the virus.

An influenza case generally lasts from six months to one year, including three peak periods, Vallat said, adding that "we are now in the first phase of the new flu, whose future development may not be very serious."

Although some patients were in serious conditions or have died, a lot others have easily recovered after proper medical treatment, so it's unnecessary to be panic, Vallat said.

Meanwhile, he warned that the epidemic may spread if the virus mutates in a negative direction.

To be prepared for the worst scenario, people should take care of personal sanitation, such as washing hands frequently and wearing masks, and a fever must be treated within 48 hours after the symptom appears, Vallat said.

Talking about the cooperation with China in dealing with the flu, Vallat said he has contacted and exchanged ideas with officials of the Chinese agriculture ministry on the current epidemic situation and measures of disease prevention and control.

The World Health Organization (WHO) will update China with the latest achievements in the research on the virus and related countermeasures as early as possible, Vallat added.

According to his estimate, the development of an influenza A/H1N1 vaccine for human needs at least six months, and that of a similar vaccine for animals needs about three months.

It is not likely for the virus to be transmitted from human beings to animals since cases of animal infection had not happened even in countries hit hard by the epidemic, Vallat said, adding that such experiments are under way in Canada and the United States and are expected to draw a conclusion next week.

Vallat welcomed the WHO's renaming of the flu and said it was "a wise decision."

The OIE raised such suggestions at the very beginning, because the virus has mixed characters of swine flu, human flu and avian flu, and the former name led to misunderstandings about the security of pork, Vallat said.

The virus has neither been detected on pigs nor been proved to be transmitted from animals to human beings, he added.

Vallat said it is wrong to slaughter pigs or restrict pork trade, since no proof has up to now shown that pigs have played any role in the spreading of the influenza.

(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2009)