GENEVA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The 62nd World Health Assembly (WHA) opened here on Monday to discuss a number of global health issues, notably the world's preparedness for a possible A/H1N1 pandemic.

    "Issues to be discussed at the WHA include pandemic influenza preparedness, sharing of influenza viruses, access to vaccines and other benefits, and implementation of the International Health Regulations..." the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement ahead of the annual gathering attended by delegates from all 193 members.

    Other issues to be discussed include climate change and health, primary health care, monitoring of the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), social determinants of health, and so on.

    The WHA is the supreme decision-making body of the WHO. It is usually held in Geneva in May and participated by health ministers of member states.

    This year's assembly will run through May 22, five days shorter than originally planned because health ministers are busy handling the A/H1N1 flu situation in their own countries.

    As of Sunday, a total of 39 countries have officially reported 8,480 cases of A/H1N1 flu infection, including 72 deaths, the WHO said.

    The largest number of cases continued to be reported from three North American countries, namely Mexico, where the new virus was first identified, the United States and Canada. Most of the deaths occurred in Mexico.

    So far, there is still no strong evidence showing community-level transmission of the virus in regions outside of North America, according to the WHO. But the UN agency is closely monitoring the spread of the virus among people, particularly in Spain, Britain and recently Japan, where cases have kept increasing.

    Once community-level transmission of the virus is confirmed outside of North America, the WHO is expected to raise its pandemic alert level from the current phase 5 to phase 6, which indicates a pandemic is underway.

    WHO experts have also warned that the severity of the disease might increase because of the intrinsic mutability of the new virus as well as other unknown factors.

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu