June 9 (Bloomberg) -- The World Health Organization is holding off on declaring a flu pandemic while it prepares governments and the public for the announcement, said Keiji Fukuda, the agency’s assistant director-general of health security and environment.

The Geneva-based United Nations health agency wants to educate countries further about the meaning of a pandemic to prevent overreaction, Fukuda said on a conference call with journalists today. Raising the WHO’s six-step pandemic scale to its highest level might cause people who are healthy to flock to hospitals, preventing the sick from getting care, he said.

“We are really working pretty hard to get these messages out to people,” said Fukuda. “We know that we are getting closer probably to a pandemic situation.”

The swine flu virus, also known as H1N1, is spreading in Australia, Chile and the U.K. The number of confirmed swine flu cases in Australia reached 1,211, the government said today, the highest number outside North America. The southeastern state of Victoria has 1,011 confirmed cases, the federal health department said on its Web site.

The WHO also is continuing to lay the groundwork for development of a vaccine, ensuring a supply of antiviral medicines and providing clinical guidelines on the flu, Fukuda said.

“We very clearly see what is going on in Australia, but what we’re doing is working very hard to make sure that everyone is in the best position as we get closer to a phase six declaration,” Fukuda said.

The agency has noticed a disproportionate number of serious cases among Canada’s Inuit population, and it’s not clear why, he said.

The WHO says 26,563 cases, including 140 deaths, have been reported in 73 countries. In most cases, the illness causes symptoms no more serious than seasonal flu.

To contact the reporter on this story: Phil Serafino in Paris at pserafino@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 9, 2009 12:19 EDT