Doctors and nurses, with their training and their experiences, they would be able to detect unusual patterns of disease. That's why we say it is important for every country to have a proper surveillance system. The function of the surveillance system is to detect unusual patterns of diseases.

The international community should treat this as a window of opportunity to ramp up preparedness and response.

The unique nature about the influenza virus is its great potential for changes, for mutation.

A health system that lacks commodities for managing high-mortality infectious diseases and the main killers of mothers and young children will not have an adequate impact. By the same token, even the best-stocked delivery system will have an inadequate impact if it fails to reach the poor.

What amazes me most is that the media and I have fostered a close relationship.

Pandemic influenza is by nature an international issue; it requires an international solution.

For a pandemic of moderate severity, this is one of our greatest challenges: helping people to understand when they do not need to worry, and when they do need to seek urgent care.