People should change their sanitary habits to avoid attracting influenza A/H1N1, especially for the young people who were seen easier to be influenced by the novel virus, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) expert told Xinhuain an interview on Thursday.

"Changing habits means that at least one should do preventive measures to protect themselves from infection. This depends on a large extent on the behavior of the individual," said Dr. Zohair Hallaj, senior adviser on communicable diseases in WHO's office of Eastern Mediterranean region (EMRO).

He stressed "If the patients or the public don't change their behavior, the health authorities can not control the outbreak, and can not control the epidemic."

"If you want to sit in a crowded place where 30 people sneezing all the time, then you are exposing yourself to the virus, so you should avoid such exposure in order to prevent the spread of the disease," he said.

To prevent infection, people should cover their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when coughing or sneezing, dispose the tissue properly immediately after use and wash hands regularly with soap and water, according to an EMRO bulletin.

It is strongly recommended to avoid close contact with people who appear unwell and have fever and cough. Those who have influenza-like symptoms should seek medical advice immediately, said the bulletin.

The senior expert said the pandemic preparatory plan of the WHO to the new influenza A/H1N1 virus is not an indicator of the severity of the disease, but an indicator of the geographic extension.

"The severity of the disease depends on the several other factors, such as the virulence of the virus and the physical condition of the people who have contracted the virus," Hallaj said.

To date no cases of influenza A/H1N1 have been reported in EMRO, including main Middle East countries, except Israel, said EMRO in an information bulletin issued on Thursday.

On April 29, the WHO raised the pandemic alert level to Phase 5,indicating that a full pandemic is imminent.

"Moving from Phase 4 to Phase 5 is very important; Phase 5 means that two countries at least have sustained a human to human transmission of the new virus in one region of WHO," he said.

"Moving to Phase 6 means that this virus has spread in a sustained a human to human transmission into another WHO region, and that means a geographical extension," he added.

Commenting on the treatment, Hallaj said the WHO did not ask any country to buy a certain medicine from a certain company, but the organization only said the scientific name of the medicine, so that people can buy it from anywhere with any name on condition it contains the active substance.

As for the slaughtering of all the pigs in Egypt, he said that it is a domestic matter, but the organization is supporting Egyptian government on that measure.

He said pigs can not be raised with communities of people and that Egypt's slaughtering is a measure for general health.

"The human beings now are in the best shape to face such a disease, and the more we cooperate, the more we will succeed in fighting the disease," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2009)