Members of the WHO emergency committee convened on Tuesday to discuss the pandemic and determined that it no longer presented the risk it did late last year and earlier this year.

Director-General Margaret Chan noted that the virus has largely run its course and can now be considered in the post-pandemic phase.   

In a statement on Tuesday, Dr. Chan noted, “As we enter the post-pandemic period this does not mean the H1N1 virus has gone away.” She said, further, “…based on experiences with past pandemics, the H1N1 virus is likely to take on the behaviour of seasonal influenza virus and circulate for some years to come.”