27 April 2009 -- The Emergency Committee, established in compliance with the International Health Regulations (2005), held its second meeting on 27 April 2009. The Committee considered available data on confirmed outbreaks of A/H1N1 swine influenza in the United States of America, Mexico, and Canada. The Committee also considered reports of possible spread to additional countries. On the advice of the Committee, the WHO Director-General has raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from the current phase 3 to phase 4.
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenz … index.html
Phase 4 is characterized by verified human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to cause “community-level outbreaks.” The ability to cause sustained disease outbreaks in a community marks a significant upwards shift in the risk for a pandemic. Any country that suspects or has verified such an event should urgently consult with WHO so that the situation can be jointly assessed and a decision made by the affected country if implementation of a rapid pandemic containment operation is warranted. Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic but does not necessarily mean that a pandemic is a forgone conclusion.
Either the CDC or WTO says it has gotten past the point where it can be contained. I don't remember which.
I am wondering what this all means. I read that there is a 150ish suspected deaths of 2,500 suspected infections. That is about 6%. If half the world were infected, something like 180 million deaths not to mention economic effects.
Is this the pandemic that they have been warning us about for years or will it all blow over?
http://www.starsafetytrading.com/2/3849/Dispo … _campaign= ?
all i know is i'll be wearing an n95 mask on the subway next week when i start work in toronto
i chuckle every time i imagine it is a zombie epidemic
It just seems to me that words like "Pandemic" are not easily tossed around by WHO. But then again, I am just basing my assessment on my imperfect memory.
so if 1 in 1000 cases is reported, while every death is reported, then it's a 0.00886% death rate.
some studies report that bird flu cases were under-reported by 100 times.
who cares anyway.. seasonal flu kills 36000 americans each year. what's another hundred?
big fan of the apocalypse. but you are probably right about this. all hype, no substance.
Of course, facts never stopped a good mindless panic (Or the media for that matter).
but yeah, it's generally mild (more mild than the seasonal flu)