Morning Briefing

Though H1N1 (swine flu) activity worldwide has slowed, the potential of a new wave of infections in the northern hemisphere in late winter or early spring remains viable, Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's top flu expert, said Monday at the start of the WHO's weeklong Executive Board meeting, Reuters reports. The H1N1 pandemic "initially sparked widespread concern about antiviral and vaccine supplies, especially in developing countries, but many nations have cut back their vaccine orders recently because the pandemic has not turned out as deadly as originally feared," the news service writes (Nebehay, 1/18).