Swine Flu Pandemic Alert Raised to Level Five
World Health Organization raises global epidemic threat to second highest level as numbers of infected continue to rise
The World Health Organisation tonight raised its global epidemic threat level to phase five – the second highest – as a result of the increasing number of people being confirmed as infected with swine flu across the globe.
Phase five indicates that the disease is able to spread easily between humans. It can lead to governments bringing in measures to prevent its spread, including travel restrictions and trade limitations.
The next phase, six, is a full-blown pandemic, characterized by outbreaks in at least two regions of the world.
The WHO had raised the alert level from three to four on Monday – the first time it had ever intervened to increase its pandemic threat warning.
The director general of the organization, Dr Margaret Chan, announced the change at a press conference in Geneva. She said: "Influenza pandemics must be taken seriously, precisely because of their capacity to spread rapidly to every country in the world."
Chan said that, on the positive side, the world was better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history. Preparedness measures taken because of the threat from avian influenza were an investment, and there was now benefit from that investment.
"For the first time in history, we can track the evolution of a pandemic in real time," she added. "I would like to thank countries who are making the results of their investigations publicly available, this helps us understand the disease."
She said new diseases by definition were poorly understood.
"Influenza viruses are notorious for their rapid mutation and unpredictable behaviour. WHO and health authorities in affected countries will not have all the answers immediately, but we will get them."
The WHO's shift up to phase five came as it emerged that five people in the UK were now confirmed as having been infected with swine flu. They included three people who returned on the same charter flight from Cancun in Mexico: a 12-year-old girl from Torbay and a couple from Polmont in Scotland who had been on honeymoon.
The number of suspected cases in the UK had risen to 78 by yesterday afternoon, but that figure continued to fluctuate as new suspected cases emerged and others were ticked off as negative.
Alan Johnson, the health secretary, said the government was obtaining extra antiviral drugs that would protect 50 million people, amounting to more than three-quarters of the UK population.
NHS Direct, the health and advice information service, released new figures last night on the number of people visiting its website to find out more about swine flu.
A spokesman said more than 63,000 people visited NHS Direct on Tuesday this week, compared with around 39,000 on Tuesday last week. Of those, 16,638 people used the Cold and Flu Self Assessment Tool.
Monday saw an increase of around 30,000 hits on the website compared to the same time last week.
Meanwhile, there were 13,481 telephone calls taken by the service yesterday. Of these 1,659 were regarding swine flu.
Phase five indicates that the disease is able to spread easily between humans. It can lead to governments bringing in measures to prevent its spread, including travel restrictions and trade limitations.
The next phase, six, is a full-blown pandemic, characterized by outbreaks in at least two regions of the world.
The WHO had raised the alert level from three to four on Monday – the first time it had ever intervened to increase its pandemic threat warning.
The director general of the organization, Dr Margaret Chan, announced the change at a press conference in Geneva. She said: "Influenza pandemics must be taken seriously, precisely because of their capacity to spread rapidly to every country in the world."
Chan said that, on the positive side, the world was better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history. Preparedness measures taken because of the threat from avian influenza were an investment, and there was now benefit from that investment.
"For the first time in history, we can track the evolution of a pandemic in real time," she added. "I would like to thank countries who are making the results of their investigations publicly available, this helps us understand the disease."
She said new diseases by definition were poorly understood.
"Influenza viruses are notorious for their rapid mutation and unpredictable behaviour. WHO and health authorities in affected countries will not have all the answers immediately, but we will get them."
The WHO's shift up to phase five came as it emerged that five people in the UK were now confirmed as having been infected with swine flu. They included three people who returned on the same charter flight from Cancun in Mexico: a 12-year-old girl from Torbay and a couple from Polmont in Scotland who had been on honeymoon.
The number of suspected cases in the UK had risen to 78 by yesterday afternoon, but that figure continued to fluctuate as new suspected cases emerged and others were ticked off as negative.
Alan Johnson, the health secretary, said the government was obtaining extra antiviral drugs that would protect 50 million people, amounting to more than three-quarters of the UK population.
NHS Direct, the health and advice information service, released new figures last night on the number of people visiting its website to find out more about swine flu.
A spokesman said more than 63,000 people visited NHS Direct on Tuesday this week, compared with around 39,000 on Tuesday last week. Of those, 16,638 people used the Cold and Flu Self Assessment Tool.
Monday saw an increase of around 30,000 hits on the website compared to the same time last week.
Meanwhile, there were 13,481 telephone calls taken by the service yesterday. Of these 1,659 were regarding swine flu.
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