WHO considers raising global pandemic alert level

[mixin]

Re: WHO considers raising global pandemic alert level

Then, of course, we have to consider economic impacts. Some doctor was on tv this morning talking about how we needed to use caution and how hard SARS hit the economy. If we ever let a severe pandemic develop... well, they haven't seen nothin' yet.

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5524208/swine-flu-epidemic-fear-grows/

The epidemic has snowballed into a monster headache for Mexico , already grappling with a violent drug war and economic slowdown, and has quickly become one of the biggest global health scares in years.

Mexico's tourism and retail sectors could be badly hit. A new pandemic would deal a major blow to a world economy already suffering its worst recession in decades.

 

[Diane Morin]

Re: WHO considers raising global pandemic alert level

Being lazy I've copied a couple of posts I made earlier on CE. It's unlike me to go into rant mode but I think WHO are handling this all wrong

Sky News is reporting that WHO will meet on Tuesday to decide whether to raise the alert level. (no link yet)

GENEVA, April 26 (Reuters) - International experts will convene on Tuesday to advise the World Health Organisation (WHO) whether to raise the current pandemic alert level due to the new flu virus in Mexico and the United States, a WHO spokesman said.

"We need more epidemiological evidence from Mexico before the experts would be in a position to advise on a pandemic change," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters on Sunday.

"An advisory body will recommend whether or not the director-general should up (raise) the phase. They are meeting again on Tuesday," he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/usDollarRpt/idUSLQ52912820090426

 

[tropical]

Re: WHO considers raising global pandemic alert level

I watched the live WHouse brifing at CNN, and D. Besser state that it can be expected more severe cases further, plus, the public health US emergency is proclamed.

Th actual small infection numbers worldwide will spread further in more cases obviously. The intensity and severity of the further cases could deminish maybe, but it can rise also, that's obviously the actual incognita.

But such worldwide spreading - by plains - they don't stop the plains at the early begining ("let the travelers going"), and it pop up everywhere.

Their pin-pointing with starting the vaccine production would fall on the heads of the ordinary citizens.

We need no any late fabricated vaccines (3 months late).

From the brifing it could be extracted that exist a possibility that the actual strain change, and because of that the waiting.

But waiting how much - 2 days, 2 weeks, a month - this is delaying without a clear result - the virus could change after the decision also.

Unfortunately, all these questions now pushing, were visible in previously wroted posts at FT about the triage/prepandemic/pandemic vaccine, where it was visible that would be no prepandemic, nor pandemic vaccines, for anybody out of the VIP/neccessary chain -
- so if the folks in time previously enable enaugh cell-line facilities worldwide, we could have now a chance in wide numbers.

Because such thing is missed, our only hope is that the virus deminish its lethality as is actualy seen in USA (now thinked to be the tip of the begining iceberg).

Looking at the fact that many of the plain travelers taken back a virus from Mexico, it is very infective.
So ducking on stage 3 is nonsense - it can be stamped as stage 5 and be pandemic without be lethal, stil it will an pandemic flu - so: rise the phase number, and starts with quarantines everywhere worldwide now, maybe it deminish and burn without make bilions of spreaders before.

If not, at least the nations had make a try ...

 

[Niko]

WHO's "war room" in high gear after flu outbreaks

WHO's "war room" in high gear after flu outbreaks

WHO's "war room" in high gear after flu outbreaks

Sun Apr 26, 2009 4:21pm BST
By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) - The Strategic Health Operations Centre -- nicknamed the "SHOC room" or war room" -- has kicked into high gear, staffed round-the-clock by experts fighting a new flu virus spreading in Mexico and the United States.

The World Health Organisation's nerve centre for tracking epidemics and coordinating a response became fully operational on Thursday night as the first reports of multiple deaths emerged.

Mike Ryan, an Irish doctor and public health expert serving as WHO director of global alert and response, is in charge of the high-tech, windowless facility which has no natural light.

"We are in full '24-7' operation at the moment. More than 100 people are directly involved in the response," Ryan told Reuters during a brief break on Sunday.
"We are working to build up a picture so we can have data around the virus' impact on human beings and how it can be treated and prevented," he said.
The state-of-the-art hub has become the global command centre for combating the new flu strain which has killed up to 81 people in Mexico and infected a dozen in the United States.

Experts in disease surveillance, communications, laboratory testing, field support, information management and vaccines are currently deployed in 12-hour shifts in the former cinema at WHO's headquarters in Geneva.

In constant touch with health authorities in the two countries, its sophisticated communications systems and screens collect and transmit vital data on the outbreaks. They also monitor other countries for any unusual disease patterns.

SARS LESSONS
Former WHO director-general Lee Jong-Wook had ordered the agency's small operations centre revamped after the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus emerged in Asia in 2003 and then jumped continents, killing some 800 people globally before being brought under control,
Built in 2004 at a cost of $5 million, the new centre was later named after Lee, who died suddenly after a blood clot on the brain in 2006.

It is designed as a single point of global coordination to try to contain outbreaks of both traditional and emerging diseases ranging from cholera, dengue fever, Ebola, bird flu to SARS.

It has screens for video-conferences and displaying Web sites and satellite feeds. Computers transmit audio, video and other data from WHO offices in all 193 member states.

WHO head Margaret Chan said on Saturday the new virus could spread to other countries and has pandemic potential. She urged health authorities worldwide to be on high alert for suspect cases of flu-like illness or severe pneumonia.

"We need data from everybody for a global risk assessment. Are we moving to a pandemic? If so, we need to know how bad. A lot is based on understanding the virus transmission mechanism, clinical severity and efficacy of antivirals," Ryan, 44, said.

"We learned our lesson in SARS when everybody worked 24 hours a day and people burnt out. We have much more surge capacity now."

"This is a marathon at sprint pace. You have to run, but the seriousness of the public health event determines our pace. At the same time, whatever pace you establish has to be sustainable."

(Editing by Angus MacSwan)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKTRE53P1EB20090426

 

[Shiloh]

Re: WHO considers raising global pandemic alert level

Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/apr2609who.html


WHO holding at pandemic alert phase 3 for now

Robert Roos * News Editor

Apr 26, 2009 (CIDRAP News) ? The World Health Organization (WHO) today held to its position that more information is needed before a decision can be made about changing its pandemic influenza alert status from the current phase 3 to phase 4. Moving to phase 4 would mean that the new virus is transmissible enough to cause large outbreaks.

At a briefing this morning, the WHO's Dr. Keiji Fukuda reiterated yesterday's message that the emergency committee wants more information to help it make the phase-change decision. "The committee will be reconvened on Tuesday unless there's additional information indicating we should meet earlier," he said.

When prodded by reporters' questions about the appropriateness of waiting, Fukuda said, "If WHO makes a decision that the phase has changed, this is really a very serious signal to the world. I have no doubt that many countries are already taking these actions, but it does send a signal, so we want to make sure we're standing on pretty good solid ground."

He also acknowledged that many groups are waiting for a WHO decision and promised that the agency would not delay it for long.

Fukuda, who is the WHO's assistant director-general for health security and environment, emphasized how little is known yet about the new swine flu virus, and particularly why it seems to have caused severe illness in Mexico but only mild cases in the United States.

"We don?t know how often it causes serious disease as opposed to mild disease, but apparently we see both of those things occurring right now," he said.

He noted that only some of the cases reported in Mexico are lab-confirmed swine flu cases, whereas those reported in the United States are confirmed. "So it's very difficult to know if we are seeing a quite different situation in the United States and Mexico. The typical picture for influenza viruses is that they cause both mild and severe cases."

Mexican authorities are trying to determine the fatality rate for the cases there, he noted.

Experts have yet to determine the incubation period for the new virus, though flu viruses in general incubate anywhere from 1 to 4 days before causing symptoms, Fukuda said.

In other comments, he said the WHO has seen no evidence that the illnesses are related to a bioterrorist attack.

In response to a question about global preparedness, Fukuda said the past 5 years of pandemic preparedness efforts, though inspired primarily by the H5N1 avian flu virus, have left the world "much, much better prepared than we've ever been for dealing with this kind of situation."

He said communications have been good, lab investigations have been completely quickly, and genetic sequences for the new virus are in public databases, among other positive developments. "I'm really impressed at how well countries have handled this," he commented.

Replying to a question about the speed of Mexico's response to its outbreak, Fukuda defended the Mexican government's actions. He said the first cases surfaced while the country was still dealing with seasonal flu, making it harder to recognize them as something unusual.

"When they did notice they were seeing an increase in pneumonia cases and in serious pneumonia cases I think they took actions that were prudent," he said.

When a reporter said that Russia has banned pork imports from Mexico and asked if the action was appropriate, Fukuda responded, "Right now we have no evidence to suggest that people are getting infected from pork or exposure to pigs."

Fukuda also noted that the WHO has 5 million doses of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) in regional stockpiles, but he did not mention any immediate plans to deploy them.

See also:

Current WHO pandemic alert phase
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/phase/en/index.html

WHO description of alert phases and actions
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/GIPA3AideMemoire.pdf

Oct 24, 2008, CIDRAP News story about revision of pandemic alert phases
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/oct2408who.html

 

[tropical]

Re: WHO considers raising global pandemic alert level

# 45: "... no evidence ..."

I wonder how it looks like an evidence of an illness related to a biot. attack?

Dumped empty spray bottles maybe

hardly ...