Jun. 12 – The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the alert level for the H1N1 virus from five to the highest level, six, formally announcing the first pandemic in 41 years.
The decision to raise the level was made after reports that the H1N1 virus has already spread in countries outside of North America, namely Australia, Chile, Britain, Spain and Japan. The word “pandemic” refers to the geographical spread of a virus in at least two regions of the world and not the severity of the disease.
Currently, 74 countries and regions have officially confirmed 28,774 cases of A/H1N1 influenza infections along with 144 deaths.
“On the basis of available evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met. I have therefore decided to raise the level of pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6, the world is now at the start of the 2009 pandemic,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said during a press conference in Geneva.
The WHO is instructing countries with not yet exposed to the H1N1 virus, also referred to as the swine flu, to prepare pandemic-prevention plans and increase monitoring.
Public-health authorities say that the virus could pose more threat to undeveloped countries lacking adequate health-care facilities and dealing with higher incidents of chronic diseases.
On Thursday, the Hong Kong government declared that all nurseries, kindergartens and primary schools in the territory be closed for two weeks after a secondary school reported a dozen students infected with swine flu. It is the first case of swine flu infection in Hong Kong with no obvious link to overseas travel.
While the virus has spread all over the globe and reportedly infected thousands, only 1 percent of those cases led to deaths. In retrospect, the last pandemic of 1968 resulted in an estimated one million deaths and the common flu kills around 500,000 annually according to WHO estimates.
Ms. Chan said: “On present evidence, the overwhelming majority of patients experience mild symptoms and make a rapid and full recovery, often in the absence of any form of medical treatment.”
