| | What are pandemic alert phases and what phase are we in?
Category: Pandemic Influenza Questions
Answer:The World Health Organization (WHO) developed an alert system (http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/phase/en/index.html) to help inform the world about the seriousness of a pandemic. The alert system has six phases, with Phase 1 having the lowest risk of human cases and Phase 6 posing the greatest risk of pandemic. The world is presently in Phase 6 of the Pandemic Alert. This means that there is a new influenza virus subtype causing disease in humans, it is spreading easily from human to human in communities, and it is in more than one WHO geographic region. WHO Alert Phases:
| Phase | Description | | 1 | Low risk of human cases | | 2 | Higher risk of human cases | | 3 | No or very limited human-to-human transmission | | 4 | Evidence of increased human-to-human transmission | | 5 | Evidence of significant human-to-human transmission | | 6 | Efficient and sustained human-to-human transmission |
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Last Updated: 03/21/2008
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