The World Health Organization has raised its pandemic alert level for the deadly swine flu outbreak, signaling that the infection is spreading among humans in community-level outbreaks.
WHO Officials announced Monday (27 April 09) that the alert level has been raised from Phase 3 to Phase 4, which is two steps short of the pandemic phase. The decision follows reports that the outbreak is believed to have killed at least 149 people in Mexico and sickened 1,600 others.
Forty cases have been confirmed in the United States, while six have been confirmed in Canada. Spain confirmed its first case Monday, and suspected cases are being investigated in New Zealand, France, Israel and Scotland. Some of the ill recently returned from visits to Mexico.
Governments around the world are urging caution with regard to travel to Mexico, and are screening travelers arriving from affected areas. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. government is issuing a travel advisory for Mexico out of an "abundance of caution."
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the world body is concerned that the virus could cause a new influenza epidemic. He said it is not clear if it would be mild or severe, but he noted with concern that those who died in Mexico were young, healthy adults.
Separately, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says it is mobilizing teams of experts to determine if the new strain has a direct connection to pigs. The FAO says it is asking its technical staff worldwide to be on full alert and report any flu-like illnesses in swine stocks.
Earlier in Washington, President Barack Obama said the United States is closely monitoring cases of the swine flu in the U.S. He said the situation is cause for concern, but "not a cause for alarm." The United States has declared a public health emergency to allow authorities to spend federal money and release stockpiles of anti-viral medication. Mr. Obama said the declaration was issued as a "precautionary tool."
On Monday, the European Union called for an urgent meeting of EU health ministers, likely to take place Thursday. The EU health commissioner recommended avoiding travel to affected areas.
The WHO says swine influenza, or "swine flu," is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease of pigs, caused by one of several swine influenza A viruses. It says symptoms are generally similar to seasonal flu, but that cases have ranged broadly from mild infections to severe pneumonia resulting in death.
Here are some of the Past Pandemic History:
First cholera pandemic 1816-1826. Previously restricted to the Indian subcontinent, the pandemic began in Bengal, then spread across India by 1820. 10,000 British troops and countless Indians died during this pandemic. It extended as far as China, Indonesia (where more than 100,000 people succumbed on the island of Java alone) and the Caspian Sea before receding. Deaths in India between 1817 and 1860 are estimated to have exceeded 15 million persons. Another 23 million died between 1865 and 1917. Russian deaths during a similar time period exceeded 2 million.
Second cholera pandemic 1829–1851. Reached Russia, Hungary (about 100,000 deaths) and Germany in 1831, London in 1832 (more than 55,000 persons died in the United Kingdom),France, Canada (Ontario), and United States (New York) in the same year,and the Pacific coast of North America by 1834. A two-year outbreak began in England and Wales in 1848 and claimed 52,000 lives. It is believed that over 150,000 Americans died of cholera between 1832 and 1849.
Third pandemic 1852–1860. Mainly affected Russia, with over a million deaths.
Fourth pandemic 1863–1875. Spread mostly in Europe and Africa. At least 30,000 of the 90,000 Mecca pilgrims fell victim to the disease. Cholera claimed 90,000 lives in Russia in 1866.In 1866, there was an outbreak in North America. It killed some 50,000 Americans.
Fifth pandemic 1881-1896. The 1883-1887 epidemic cost 250,000 lives in Europe and at least 50,000 in Americas. Cholera claimed 267,890 lives in Russia (1892);120,000 in Spain; 90,000 in Japan and 60,000 in Persia. In 1892, cholera contaminated the water supply of Hamburg Germany, and caused 8606 deaths.
The "Asiatic Flu", 1889–1890. Was first reported in May of 1889 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. By October, it had reached Tomsk and the Caucasus. It rapidly spread west and hit North America in December 1889, South America in February–April 1890, India in February-March 1890, and Australia in March–April 1890. It was purportedly caused by the H2N8 type of flu virus, and had a very high attack and mortality rate. About 1 million people died in this pandemic."
Sixth pandemic 1899–1923. Had little effect in Europe because of advances in public health, but Russia was badly affected again (more than 500,000 people dying of cholera during the first quarter of the 20th century).The sixth pandemic killed more than 800,000 in India. The 1902-1904 cholera epidemic claimed over 200,000 lives in the Philippines.
The "Spanish flu", 1918–1919. First identified early in March 1918 in US troops training at Camp Funston, Kansas. By October 1918, it had spread to become a world-wide pandemic on all continents, and eventually infected 2.5 to 5% of the human population, with 20% or more of the world population suffering from the disease to some extent. Unusually deadly and virulent, it ended nearly as quickly as it began, vanishing completely within 18 months. In six months, some 50 million were dead; some estimates put the total of those killed worldwide at over twice that number. An estimated 17 million died in India, 675,000 in the US and 200,000 in the UK. The virus was recently reconstructed by scientists at the CDC studying remains preserved by the Alaskan permafrost. They identified it as a type of H1N1 virus.
The "Asian Flu", 1957–58. An H2N2 caused about 70,000 deaths in the United States. First identified in China in late February 1957, the Asian flu spread to the United States by June 1957. It caused about 2 million deaths globally.
Seventh pandemic 1962-66. Began in Indonesia, called El Tor after the strain, and reached Bangladesh in 1963, India in 1964, and the USSR in 1966.
The "Hong Kong Flu", 1968–69. An H3N2 caused about 34,000 deaths in the United States. This virus was first detected in Hong Kong in early 1968, and spread to the United States later that year. This pandemic of 1968 and 1969 killed an estimated one million people worldwide.Influenza A (H3N2) viruses still circulate today.
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