Swine Flu: The WHO Raised The Alert

Swine flu doesn’t seem to abate. Every day, new potential cases have been reported. Last night, for the first time in its history, the World Health Organization raised the alert to level 5, only one step away from the highest point. Level 5 means that the virus spreads between humans, person to person and that it has happened in more than just one country. Level 6, the highest level implies global pandemic.

The World Health Organization switched to a higher level due to the death of a 23 month old child in the USA. That is the first deadly case outside Mexico.

Dr Margaret Chan, the WHO Director General warns: “Influenza pandemics must be taken seriously, precisely because of their capacity to spread rapidly to every country in the world.”

“All countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans. It really is all of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic“.

In all cases but one, people with swine flu symptoms have recently been to Mexico. In Spain, it was confirmed that a person who had never been to Mexico, suffered from this deadly disease.

So far, out of 168 people who have died in Mexico, 8 of them were confirmed to have died from swine flu. One death was confirmed in the USA. Outside Mexico, swine flu cases have been also confirmed in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, Austria and Israel. Suspected cases have emerged in Brazil, Peru, Guatemala, North Korea, Switzerland and Australia.