WHO keen to avoid panic in any pandemic call

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization wants to avoid excessive panic in any declaration of a flu pandemic by making sure countries are well prepared to deal with the move, its top flu expert Keji Fukuda said Tuesday.

"One critical issue is we do not want people to 'over-panic' if they hear we are in a pandemic situation," Fukuda, who is acting assistant director-general, told a news conference.

(Reporting by Jonathan Lynn, editing by Richard Balmforth)