William Atkins
Tuesday, 28 April 2009 19:31
Science -
Health
Page 2 of 3
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have concerns that this swine flu could evolve into an influenza pandemic
On April 27, 2009, officials with WHO raised the
alert level from 3 to 4 worldwide because of the risks associated with swine flu.
Phases 1 through 3 are related to
“capacity development and response planning” and involve mostly animal (in this case, pig) infections.
Phases 4 through 6 involve
“response and mitigation” and involve widespread human infections.
Specifically, phase 4 involves
“sustained human to human transmission.”
Based on the April 24, 2009 CDC press release
CDC Briefing on Public Health Investigation of Human Cases of Swine Influenza,
“The United States Government is working with the World Health Organization and other international partners to ensure early detection and warning and to respond as rapidly as possible to this threat in order to lessen its potential health and socioeconomic impact.
According to Dr. Keiji Fukuda, deputy director general of WHO,
“We’re in a period in which the picture is evolving. We need to know the extent to which it causes mild and serious infections.” [New York Times (April 26, 2009): “
U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency Over Swine Flu”]
Page three concludes.
