GuiananZone

As we just reported, the WHO had been planning on raising the pandemic threat level to level 5. Well, now it is official. The WHO made the announcement today at a news conference in Geneva.

WHO Director General Margaret Chan said that, "all countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans." Keiji Fukuda, the assistant director-general of WHO, also added that a pandemic is "imminent."

In response to the pandemic threat level being raised to level 5, President Barack Obama indicated that the federal government is taking the threat seriously, "Every American should know that the federal government is prepared to do whatever is necessary to control this virus," Obama said in a press conference Wednesday. He also said that schools where suspected or confirmed cases of swine flu have been located, "should strongly consider temporarily closing so that we can be as safe as possible."

According to NPR, the World Health Organization (WHO) will be raising the pandemic threat level of the swine flu from level 4 to level 5. The announcement is said to be coming sometime today.

This comes after multiple states (Arizona, Kansas, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, North and South Carolina, California, New York, New Jersey, and Texas - with more popping into the list constantly) indicated that there were either confirmed or suspected cases. Today it was also announced that the first death within the US occurred today - a young child in Texas who was visiting from Mexico. The virus is also spreading rapidly to other countries.

Currently we are at pandemic threat level 4:

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.

Today we should expect the threat level to be raised to level 5:

Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region (Figure 4). While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.

Please be sure you follow general flu avoidance precautions, most importantly hand washing!!! Also cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and avoid touching surfaces that many other people touch. Public places, at least for me, are unavoidable, so I carry a trial size of hand sanitizer in my purse - $1.79 is a good investment, especially now!

If you have symptoms, which are generally the same as the common seasonal flu, stay home for a few days, AWAY from others, and see how you progress. Currently, the majority of US cases do not require hospitalization. Call or email your doctor and ask for advice.