The World Health Organisation (WHO) is discussing with South Africa's government how to reduce the risk of H1N1 influenza spreading at next year's soccer World Cup, a spokeswoman for the United Nations agency said on Tuesday. The talks are part of WHO efforts to avoid having mass public gatherings fan the flames of the pandemic flu which has so far infected mainly young people and caused most hospitalisation and deaths among pregnant women, the already sick and the obese. "We are looking at the government's plans and all those measures that they are putting in place to deal with any kind of disease outbreak that could happen with the World Cup," WHO spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi told a news briefing. The tournament will be played in June and July 2010 -the height of the seasonal flu period in the southern hemisphere winter.