H1N1 pandemic level assessed

The World Health Organization's expert panel met todiscusswhether to declare the H1N1 flu pandemic over.

WHO director-general Margaret Chanwill not announce the results of Tuesday'smeeting until Wednesday, a spokesperson said. No reason was given for the delay.

"They are going to look at the info and see what the [epidemiological] info says around the world," WHO spokepersonGregory Hartl told reporters in Geneva before the meeting in Geneva.

"The two most likely outcomes are either status quo or 'post-pandemic.'"

Declaring the pandemic over wouldwould skip the "post-peak" phaseofflu activity returning to the normal levels usually seen with seasonal influenza.

Chan's declarationdetermines how the UN health agency's 193 member governments handle the outbreak, such as stockpiling vaccines and antivirals.

Hartl told reporters in Geneva that H1N1 will likely remain the dominant flu strain "for quite a while."

The WHO has been accused of overblowing the H1N1 outbreak, which was declared a full pandemic in June 2009.

Last week, WHOconfirmed 18,114 deaths among people with confirmed H1N1since the start of the outbreak in April 2009.