It is official now! The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global pandemic for the Swine Flu and raised its alert level to its highest level (Phase 6) yesterday!
The Phase 6 pandemic designation has been widely expected for the last two weeks. The announcement came after a meeting of the WHO’s Emergency Committee, which has debated since April whether the spread of a novel H1N1 flu virus was fast and widespread enough to warrant a Phase 6 designation.
“This is an important and challenging day for all of us. The scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic has been met. Further spread is considered inevitable … We are moving into the early days of the first flu pandemic of the 21st century,” said Margaret Chan, WHO Director General, at a news conference yesterday at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
“Phase 6 is meant as a signal to countries to recalibrate their strategies to minimize the harm from swine flu. In countries where the virus and the response to it are already widespread, it is not likely to mean significant changes,” Chan said. But she urged countries that have seen only limited cases, or no cases at all, to get ready.
“The virus is not stoppable,” she said. “I would advise them to maintain vigilance, enhance surveillance and be prepared for the arrival of the novel H1N1 in their country.”
Discussions about shifting to Phase 6 have been under way for weeks. Chan indicated that a major factor in the decision was surveillance from countries in the Southern Hemisphere, where flu season is under way. In Chile and Australia, two countries with many flu cases, she said H1N1 appears to be the dominant strain, “crowding out” the seasonal influenza virus.
Chan said she would recommend that vaccine manufacturers proceed with mass production of an inoculation against the new swine flu strain as soon as they finish production of seasonal vaccine, which she estimated would be complete in about two weeks.
The last flu pandemic in 1968 killed about one million people.
As of 11 June 2009, world-wide, the virus had spread to 75 countries and there were more than 30,000 confirmed cases and at least 144 deaths.
Authorities in the United States has already declared a public health emergency on 26 April 2009 and since then the US Dept of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security have been acting as if Phase Six was already in effect.
Authorities in Hong Kong, on 11 June 2009, has ordered the closure of all elementary schools, kindergartens and day care centers in the city after 12 students were found to be infected with the virus. “This is the first cluster of swine flu cases in Hongkong without a link to someone who had travelled overseas. The schools and day care centers were told to close for 14 days as investigators try to identiry the source of the infection,” said Hongkong’s Chief Executive Donald Tsang.
Authorities in Israel has announced that the number of people diagnosed with swine flu had increased to 68, despite stringent measures being imposed country-wide. Three of the new cases recently arrived in Israel from the United States on a Birthright Israel trip. A Palestinian girl, 4, has also become the first confirmed case of swine flu in the West Bank and Gaza. The girl, a resident of Bethlehem, recently returned from a visit to the United States.
The following are two examples of the different attitudes of people in response to the swine flu pandemic:
“My partner and I returned to Birmingham from Cancun yesterday morning at 08:20am. There were no members of the health department there to meet us, over 400 people passed through without help or advise being offered.
We returned home to our seven-months-old daughter and in-laws. Last night we developed many of the symptoms listed.
I contacted the NHS Direct and after several hours we were asked to go to the hospital ourselves. We had to wait in A&E before being seen by doctors dressed in masks, aprons and gloves.
We have high temperatures over 38 degrees, aches, coughing and sneezing, diarrhea and nausea. The hospital prescribed us both with Tamiflu and told us to drive to a chemist in Coventry, we waited for 15 minutes surrounded by other people before we had the Tamiflu.
The chemist informed us that they only had one dose available and that we would need to return the following day. This morning we were contacted by the HPA, we informed them of the situation and they told us that under no circumstances should we leave the house.
We are waiting the results now, we are very concerned about our daughter and family around us as it looks like we have now infected them.”
Richard Cook, Nuneaton, UK.
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“It usually takes me about 40 minutes to get to work. Today it took me less than 20 minutes. There is no traffic, no parents taking their kids to work, no tourists. Buses are half-empty, with most passengers wearing face masks.
The absence of tourists is striking. There are no tourists riding the bus or walking the streets. No tourists! The virus has not travelled to Puerto Vallarta, but tourists have stopped coming. The almost palpable absence of the latter could turn out to be as bad as, or even worse than, the presence of swine flu.
As locals half-jokingly, half-seriously, comment, “If it spreads to Vallarta, the virus might kill us; hunger will surely kill us.”
I am afraid to admit that Vallarta residents seem to have it right: no tourists, no money, no food. I wonder if our fear of the pandemic, along with all the preventive measures that are causing a serious economic slow-down (cancelled flights, closed restaurants, empty hotels, poor businesses, etc.), will not trigger an economic crisis much more deadly than the flu itself?”
Chavdarova, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
In Singapore, though the number of infected has risen to 28, most people are still ignoring the possible dangers of this swine flu spread. In addition, the conflicting signals given by the authorities do no help at all. So, it is individuals’ responsibility to heed or not to heed any precautionary measures recommended. (Read my earlier articles here and here.)
Nevertheless, it is good to bear in mind that though one may not die from contacting the disease, but one may spread it to someone else who may ultimately die from it because of you. In other words, if you think you cannot die, but don’t indirectly cause the deaths of others who are less fortunate than you. Examples:
- 1. In Mexico recently, a boy who was the first to be infected with swine flu did not die but his entire family died from the disease that he spread to them.
- 2. During the SARS outbreak in 2003, one girl victim did not die but she spread the disease to her entirely family and all of them died from it. She lives to regret alone for the rest of her life.
Owing to the present global economic downturn and poor national economic performance, many governments and some so-called medical “experts” are telling people not to panic and at the same time imply that the swine flu can be liken to the common flu in terms of fatality rate. Yet, to cover their own backside, they are also announcing this as a “Pandemic” and telling people to be mentally prepared. This double-speak of fork-tongues is quite common among people who play politics.
In reality, medical experts are still not able to confidently establish the actual state of affairs about this particular outbreak of swine flu!
The worst crime of all, in this kind of a scenario, is to refuse to take nation-wide protective measures which should be imposed but, because of expediency and hidden political, economic or other selfish interests, they have not been done or done half-heartedly. This is sheer irresponsibility!
So, in an irresponsible world without accountability and transparency, it is wise for individuals to decide for their own interests. Isn’t it better to be cautious and live to be laughed or joked at than to be dead without even a chance for regret? The risk is yours and yours alone to take. But think for the children!
