Refer A Colleague Swine Flu Reaches Pandemic Level
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that the H1N1 flu virus, also known as swine flu, a worldwide pandemic.
The WHO elevated its pandemic level to phase six, the highest level. The H1N1 flu virus has spread to 74 countries, with 28,774 reported cases and 144 deaths, according to statistics from the WHO.
WHO officials say they are monitoring the virus. “We are in the earliest days of the pandemic,” Dr. Margaret Chan, the director-general of the WHO, said in a statement. “The virus is spreading under a close and careful watch.”
Chan added that no previous pandemic has been detected so early or watched so closely, in real-time, right at the very beginning.
For more information on the WHO, visit www.who/int/en. For more information on how biomeds can prepare for the pandemic, visit http://www.aami.org/publications/AAMINews/Jun2009/swine.flu.html.