Swine Flu UPDATE:World Health Organization (WHO) Raises Pandemic Level To 5

Swine Flu UPDATE:World Health Organization (WHO) Raises Pandemic Level To 5, its second highest level, warning of widespread human infection from the swine flu outbreak that originated in Mexico and is spreading through out the world.

The WHO’s “Phases of Pandemic Alert,” which has been in existence for five years, characterizes phase 5 as a human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region, signaling that a pandemic is imminent.

(pic) Quarantine authorities at the Narita, Japan airport, go to meet planes in coming from Mexico.

Dr. Margaret Chan, the U.N. agency’s director general, states that the decision to raise the alert on the six point scale indicated that all countries should “immediately” activate pandemic preparedness plans.

“This change to a higher phase of alert is a signal to governments, to ministries of health and other ministries, to the pharmaceutical  industry and the business community that certain actions now should be taken with increased urgency and at an accelerated pace,” Chan said.

Increased confirmed Swine Flu cases worldwide has pushed the pandemic level to 5.

The highest level, phase 6, is defined by community level outbreaks in at least one other country in a different WHO region, according to the agency.

The WHO and national governments have confirmed 148 cases in nine countries. Most of those cases are in the United States, where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 91 cases. Mexico must not be reporting or confirming their cases.

The figures include seven deaths in Mexico and one in the United States. More than 2,700 other patients worldwide are believed to be suffering from the virus that government officials call by its technical name, 2009 H1N1, that most of us know by swine flu or swine influenza.

The first cases of the virus were detected in Mexico, where health officials suspect swine flu in more than 150 other deaths and roughly 2,500 illnesses. As of late Wednesday, 99 cases had been confirmed and up from 26, Mexico’s health secretary reported. An eighth fatality was also confirmed. Mexico is an area where pig farms are scattered through out the country side.

The additional cases and fatality have not been immediately confirmed by WHO. So there are more fatalities still coming in as well as cases of swine flu.

Researchers have not figured out how the virus is jumping so easily from person to person, or why it’s affecting what should be society’s healthiest demographic. Many of the victims who have died in Mexico have been young and otherwise healthy.

The outbreak has prompted Mexican authorities to order about 35,000 public venues in Mexico City to shut down and restrict restaurants to serving only take out meals. The streets are literally vacant in the hub of Mexico, Mexico City.

All nonessential government offices and private business have been ordered to close between May 1-5, with only skeletal staffing allowed when absolutely necessary.

Many pats of Mexico, which is almost considered a third world country, will be suffering an economic impact with this decision.

Germany and Austria became the latest European countries to report swine flu on Wednesday, April 28, 2009. While the number of swine flu cases increase in the United Kingdom and Spain.

Peru has reported their first case late Wednesday, April 29th, 2009.

Yet Chan reiterated the WHO’s recommendation not to close borders or restrict trade in response to the outbreak, saying the world “is better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time” in history.

“We need to maintain a level of calmness so that we will continue to manage this in a rational manner,” she said, adding that, “pork is safe for consumption as long as it is cooked properly.”

How America is Dealing With The Swine Flu

President Obama does not see the possibility of closing the U.S. border with Mexico, at this time. Where the swine flu has started. “It would be akin to closing the barn door after the horses are out,” Obama said during his Wednesday evening news conference.

Obama did state that, “he will be looking to health officials for guidance on how to handle travel between the two countries.

The $1.5 billion Obama requested from Congress to help fight the outbreaks will help health officials monitor and track the virus and replenish the supply of anti-viral drugs.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano stated that, “about a quarter of the U.S. stockpile of anti-viral drugs will be distributed to states by Sunday.

U.S. officials also are asking scientists whether additional measures to screen for flu symptoms were needed at U.S. ports of entry, she said. Already, customs officers have asked 49 people to submit to tests for the H1N1 virus, she said. Of those tests, 41 have been negatives and the remaining eight have not yet come back.

Swine Flu UPDATE:World Health Organization (WHO) Raises Pandemic Level To 5 and the US has researchers already taking steps to crack the genetic code of the virus behind the swine flu outbreak in order to produce a vaccine, U.S. CDC authorities stated Wednesday, April 29th, 2009.

The U.S. government is distributing 25 percent of its stockpile of antiviral medications Tamiflu and Relenza to all states, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday. Health officials stress that the medications are effective only if taken in the early stages of the infection.

The 91 confirmed cases in the United States includes the country’s first swine flu fatality: a 23-month-old child visiting from Mexico who died Monday at a Houston, Texas, hospital.

In the United States, at least 74 elementary, junior high and high schools have closed across the country due to confirmed or probable cases of swine flu, and another US 30 schools have closed as a precautionary measure per the Department of Education.

According to the CDC, U.S. Marines in California have reported the militarys’ first suspected case of swine flu, and three military family members in San Diego have confirmed cases.

As a precaution, the military is banning travel to Mexico for nonessential personnel.

What is The Swine Flu?

Swine influenza, or flu, is a contagious respiratory disease that affects pigs. When the flu spreads person to person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to treat or fight, because people have no natural immunity.

Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

According to Mexican authorities, they believe that “patient zero,” or the first case swine flu, in this global outbreak, is in the small mountain village of La Gloria. This small town is scattered with pig farming and the “patient zero,” is a 5 year old boy who is recovering.

Edgar Hernandez, 5, survived the earliest documented case of swine flu. He lives near a pig farm, though experts have not established a connection between that and his illness.

Edgar has managed to bounce back from his symptoms and playfully credits ice cream for helping him feel better.

What Is The World Doing About The Swine Flu?

Governments around the world are scrambling to prevent further outbreaks of the Swine Flu.

Some countries, such as China and Russia, have banned pork imports from the United States and Mexico, though the WHO said the disease is not transmitted through eating or preparing pig meat. Several other countries, such as Japan and Indonesia, are using thermographic devices to test the temperature of passengers arriving from Mexico.

Egypt reportedly is considering culling all pigs although there have been no reported cases of swine flu there.

Swine Flu UPDATE:World Health Organization (WHO) Raises Pandemic Level To 5, even though the common seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people every year worldwide, far more than the current outbreak of swine flu. But there is a vaccine for seasonal flu.