WHO PANDEMIC ALERT PHASES Phase 1: No infections in humans are being caused by viruses circulating in animals. Phase 2: Animal flu virus causes infection in humans, and is a potential pandemic threat. Phase 3: Flu causes sporadic cases in people, but no significant human-to-human transmission. Phase 4: Human-to-human transmission and community-level outbreaks. Phase 5: Human-to-human transmission in at least two countries. Strong signal pandemic imminent. Phase 6: Virus spreads to another country in a different region. Global pandemic under way. Post-peak: Pandemic activity appears to be decreasing though second wave possible. Post-pandemic: activity returns to normal, seasonal flu levels.
lol @ Egypt deciding that killing their entire pig population would prevent them from getting a disease communicable from HUMANS.
I think they're expecting that, frankly. They're more concerned about it re-emerging in the fall during traditional flu season. But everywhere I've read suggests they expect this to die down as we get into warmer days.
Right. And people would rather move on from that kind of extremely gloomy history trying to forget it... (except the Holocaust). Not saying it should even be a top 10 event or anything. More suggesting even just for a widespread cheesy public service announcencement for getting the kids to behave (kids being big time germ spreaders), or even adults, wouldnt hurt to toss a little 1918 in there. Sure they thought of it but oh well now, time to prepare the bunker
Well technically it's communicable from pig-to-pig, pig-to-human and now human-to-human. Egypt's trying to stop the spread from pig-to-human but it's too late for that now that there's global evidence of human-to-human transmission.
Right, I was just saying way to kill all the pigs when it would probably still get there via human-human.
Am I wrong or should we have been at Phase 6 since the weekend? Don't we have cases in Spain and Australia already?
I think they have to determine that there has been human to human spreading of the virus in the new region, not just a carrier bringing it in. Up until now, the disease had been contracted in Mexico/US and the person has ended up in some other part of the world. They would then have to infect new people and have outbreaks there, and so far, those single cases haven't seemed to spread. It got raised to 5 because people have now been infected IN the US, not just been infected in Mexico and carried it here.
