Obama: Flu strain requires vigilance and readiness

I / Washington May 2, 2009, 15:40 IST

The strain of flu virus that is alarming the world is so new and poorly understood that it justifies the US government's multi-pronged efforts to fight it, President Barack Obama said today.      

Swine flu, or H1N1 flu as the government calls it, has caused only one confirmed US death. But medical authorities fear it could become much worse, Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address, and that's why he has thrown substantial federal resources into the campaign against it.      

"This is a new strain of the flu virus, and because we haven't developed an immunity to it, it has more potential to cause us harm," the president said. "Unlike the various strains of animal flu that have emerged in the past, it's a flu that is spreading from human to human. This creates the potential for a pandemic, which is why we are acting quickly and aggressively."      

Obama said it is not clear why the virus has claimed far more victims in Mexico than elsewhere. That is "why we are taking all necessary precautions in the event that the virus does turn into something worse," he said.