The world has made some progress in holding back the deadly A/H1N1 flu but the virus is far from being controlled and mankind can't rest on its oars in its war against the outbreak.

About 6,000 confirmed cases of the flu have been reported in 34countries around the world so far and 61 people have been killed, according to the World Health Organization.

Since the first outbreak of the virus in mid-April in Mexico, more and more people have been infected and more and more countries have been hit by the outbreak.

Facing a common threat, the world has conducted close cooperation and has taken tense, preventive measures. Governments around the planet have fully mobilized social resources to battle the nightmare.

Some media, after some progress was made in the battle, began to question whether health officials had overreacted to the disease.

Bekele Geleta, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, doesn't think so. Geleta says mankind can't relax even a little yet because there is a long way to go before the virus is thoroughly understood.

The A/H1NI virus is an entirely new kind of flu and it is still unknown how the disease spreads and infects people. It is also unknown why the virus developed this year or what variations it may have.

The WHO said a flu virus may suddenly produce more deadly variations.

A flu outbreak can be amazingly destructive. The massive flu outbreak in 1918, which in the end claimed tens of millions of lives, was not so critical when it first erupted, but its second shockwave half a year later was devastating.

The A/H1N1 flu is still at its early stage, and may continue to spread and bring about new variations.

The WHO said that as the flu spreads toward the southern hemisphere, it may combine with seasonal flu already there and produce unpredictable and dangerous changes.

It is still the immediate task for the world to prevent and control the spreading flu.

The international community should attach importance to the epidemic, keep high vigilance, monitor the outbreak closely, and make joint efforts to fight the virus.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2009)