A Little More on the WHO and Swine Flu Response, and What Does Level Five Mean?

by Alanna Shaikh · 2009-04-30 11:56:00 UTC
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(photo credit: squidish)

The World Health Organization has been issuing a steady stream of technical guidance on swine flu. This includes surveillance guides, testing protocols, and advice on treatment and infection prevention. In my opinion, this is really where the WHO shines. It has access to global data, an impartial approach, and contacts with the experts required to develop this stuff. I think it's done a good job of doing this quickly.

Today, the WHO raised the alert level on swine flu to level 5. What does this mean? Well, it's a 5 on a scale of 1 to 6. Phase five means that at least two countries in one WHO region have been affected by the spread of an infectious disease. Most countries are still not affected, but phase 5 is essentially a guarantee that pandemic is coming.

I'd like to repeat what I said before. An infection is classified as pandemic based on its prevalence - how many people it infects. It's not based on how many people it kills or injures. A pandemic illness can still have a fairly mild effect on the person who contracts the infection. I'd also like to point out that we're already living with one global pandemic right now: HIV.

Alanna Shaikh
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