A/H1N1 pandemic alert can move to its highest level

PanARMENIAN.Net - The head of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, yesterday suggested the A/H1N1 virus (swine flu) pandemic alert would eventually move to its highest level.



But the woman in charge of the global fight against the H1N1 outbreak said a move to level six should not be taken as a cause for panic.



"Level six does not mean, in any way, that we are facing the end of the world. It is important to make this clear because [otherwise] when we announce level six it will cause unnecessary panic," she told Spain's El Pais newspaper.



Officials from the United Nations and the WHO later insisted that there were no imminent plans to raise the alert level. But they agreed that going to the highest level could be an eventuality.

Raising the alert level to six would mean that a global pandemic was in full effect. However, the officials emphasized that a pandemic did not necessarily mean the disease was particularly deadly.



And in a video link with the UN, Chan appeared to attempt to allay fears, adding: "We are not there yet."



The Financial Times also reported that Chan, who recently raised the threat of a pandemic to level five, had suggested a move to level six was likely. She warned that the real blow might come if a second wave of cases swept across the globe at the start of the winter flu season.



"If it's going to happen, it would be the biggest of all outbreaks the world has faced in the 21st century," she said.



On Sunday the WHO said there were 985 confirmed cases of swine flu in 20 countries, including 590 cases in Mexico where 25 people have died, and 226 cases in the United States were one toddler has succumbed to the disease.