H1N1 Virus Has Reached WHO Level Six (Pandemic)

As I write this, I'm listening to Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, announce WHO's elevation of the prevalence of influenza A H1N1 (swine flu) to level six, or pandemic level. The key sentence in the presentation (the one saying that the level is raised to 6) was said at 5:08 p.m. British Summer Time.

Do not panic. Please.

This announcement only recognizes that H1N1 has spread to a global enough level that WHO can call it a pandemic. It does NOT mean that the virus has gotten worse. Indeed, most cases are still mild and not fatal. Basically, it serves as a call to countries to examine their own health systems and make sure that they have the right guidelines and restrictions (and vaccines, if able) in place. It's also, according to Dr Chan and in answer to a journalist's question, "a signal to the international community", and especially developed countries, to help developing countries by donating vaccines and other services.

The press conference in Geneva continues as of right now. It's moved on to journalists' questions. There will probably be more material (and maybe the full text of Dr Chan's statement) here or around there as the day goes on.

...

Sorry, I just felt like putting that out there. Reading through sensational stories in the papers and online over here has gotten to my head.

[8:58 p.m.: Here's the critical part I mentioned earlier:

On the basis of available evidence, and these expert assessments of the evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met.

I have therefore decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6.

The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic.

We are in the earliest days of the pandemic. The virus is spreading under a close and careful watch.

The full text appears here. The video (with journalists' questions) appears here in .wmv format.