UN considering raising global pandemic alert level due to swine flue spread

Maandag besluiten de VN of de alarmfase opgevoerd gaat worden naar fase 4 of 5 vanwege de uitbraak van varkensgriep.

UN CONSIDERING RAISING GLOBAL PANDEMIC ALERT LEVEL DUE TO SWINE FLU SPREAD

With swine flu infections now confirmed in four different countries, the United Nations health agency may raise the international pandemic alert today to phase 4 or 5 – out of six – for the first time since the current warning system was introduced in 2005 for the avian influenza crisis.

The emergency committee, established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to advise on the recent outbreak of the deadly new strand of the flu virus, is currently meeting to determine the status of the pandemic alert level.

WHO reported that there are confirmed cases in Canada, Mexico, Spain and the United States, and there are rumours of the infection spreading to others.

“We now have 40 reported cases in the United States and approximately 26 in Mexico, others in Canada and we now have a verified case in Spain,” a WHO spokesperson told reporters in Geneva.

Phase 5 of the WHO pandemic alert levels is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region.

“The declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short,” says the agency’s website.

The geographic spread and the increasing number of human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) has brought forward the second meeting of the WHO emergency committee to today.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also expressed concern over the virus, noting that under WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, “the UN system is actively working with all concerned Governments, especially those of Mexico and the United States, to rapidly scale up support in controlling the outbreak.”

Zie ook voor meer informatie de site van de WHO
http://www.who.int/en/

Zie ook
Situatie varkensgriep wereldwijd alarmerend, Tamiflu blijkt effectief

Post van zondag
The warning of the UN: Swine flu outbreak has pandemic potential, warns UN health agency