Fwd: UN NOTCHES UP SWINE FLU PANDEMIC ALERT TO LEVEL 5

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Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:00:19 -0400

UN NOTCHES UP SWINE FLU PANDEMIC ALERT TO LEVEL 5

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UN NOTCHES UP SWINE FLU PANDEMIC ALERT TO LEVEL 5

New York, Apr 29 2009 6:00PM

Seeing the swine flu virus spread within a raft of countries, the

United Nations health agency today raised the international alert to

Phase 5 on a six-point scale, signalling an imminent pandemic and

urging all countries to intensify preparations.

 

“This change to a higher alert is a signal to Governments, to

ministries of health and other ministries, to the pharmaceutical and

the business communities, that certain actions now should be

undertaken with extreme urgency,” Margaret Chan, Director-General of

the World Health Organization

(< " http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html " >WHO) said in

announcing the move during a teleconference with the world press.

 

“All countries should immediately now activate their pandemic

surveillance plans,” she said, calling on all to remain on high alert

for clusters of influenza-like illness and pneumonia. Early detection

and treatment of cases, and infection controls in all health

facilities were also critical, she said.

 

Alert Phase 5 meant that sustained human to human transmission had

been confirmed, with widespread community outbreaks, in at least two

regions, she said.

 

International cooperation was particularly important she maintained,

warning that the H1N1 influenza virus has shown its “capacity to

spread rapidly to every country in the world.”

 

She added that she had reached out to donor countries and

international organizations to mobilize resources, particularly for

developing countries which are usually more vulnerable to the

deadliest effects of pandemics.

 

Fortunately, she said the world is better prepared for an influenza

pandemic than any time in history, due to the substantial investments

made to prepare for the H5N1 virus, or avian flu. “For the first time

in history, we can track the evolution of a pandemic in real time,”

she said.

 

She thanked countries, particularly the United States, Canada and

Mexico, for their strong cooperation with WHO since the outbreak

became evident.

 

“New diseases, by definition, are poorly understood, and WHO and

health authorities will not have all the answers immediately,” she

acknowledged, while vowing, “But we will get them.”

 

The agency, she pledged, would continue tracking the virus at the

epidemiological, clinical and biological levels, and make their

information public as soon as it is analyzed.

 

In an earlier teleconference today, WHO Assistant Director-General

Keiji Fukuda said that there has been an increase in lab-confirmed

cases – from 79 yesterday to 114 – been reported in Canada, the US,

Mexico, Israel, Spain, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

 

“It’s clear that the virus is spreading, and we don’t see any evidence

of it slowing down at this point,” Mr. Fukuda said

He said that while preliminary results showed that the virus did

originate in pigs, he stressed that there is no evidence that people

are now getting sick from pigs or pork products.

 

He emphasized that experts are continuing to study the situation and

that there are still unanswered questions – for example, it is

currently unclear whether people, upon becoming infected, will develop

mild or severe illness.

 

Yesterday, Mr. Fukuda said that WHO is working to facilitate the

process needed to develop a vaccine effective against the swine flu

virus, which the agency noted could take around 4 to 6 months, plus

more months to build up substantial stocks.

 

Meanwhile, today at the Security Council, which is holding an open

debate on the situation of children caught up in armed conflict,

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his call for international

unity on the swine flu outbreak.

 

“This really requires the whole international community’s cooperation,

and I count on the leadership and commitment of not only the Council

member States, but the whole international community,” he said.

________________

 

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