Geneva - With the spectre of the swine flu still looming, the annual World Health Assembly, the ministerial level body of the World Health Organization, began its opening session on Monday morning in Geneva.

The event, the group's 62nd annual meeting, will take place as world leaders try to figure out how to respond to the outbreak of the new A(H1N1) influenza virus. A special session on the virus was set to take place in the early afternoon.

During the assembly, which was originally set to last until May 27, but will now likely be slimmed down and only last through Friday, several key aspects of the response to the flu are set to be discussed, including the WHO's plan for vaccines.

The organization is tasked with deciding whether to call for production of a vaccine for H1N1 once one is ready, which could take several months. But ramping up production of that vaccine would only come at the expense of delays in preparing a vaccine for seasonal influenza.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan was expected to meet with representatives of large pharmaceutical companies. She has been in talks with some companies since the outbreak began, though the UN would not say which ones.

A decision on the duration of the assembly is set to be decided by delegates in the morning session, after selection of a president for the meeting.

Last week, WHO officials said the annual meeting might be cut short as some officials would have to return to their home countries owing to the flu outbreak.

New cases of what appeared to be human-to-human transmission of the virus in Japan have sparked speculation that the WHO might raise its influenza alert to Phase 6, the highest possible, indicating a pandemic.

The latest WHO world tally showed 8,480 cases of human infection, with 72 deaths, mostly in Mexico. The virus has been deemed by health authorities to be mostly mild, based on evidence available so far.

The health agency's budget was also set for discussion by attendees at the meeting.

Furthermore, international health regulations, intellectual property, primary health care, numerous chronic diseases and the challenges related to achieving the Millennium Development Goals are all on the agenda.

No announcement has been made yet as to what topics will be skipped should the meeting be cut short. (dpa)