WHO Raises Swine Flu Pandemic Alert Level From Phase Four To Phase Five

World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the Swine Flu Pandemic alert level from the current phase four to phase five. Phase five alert means there are human-to-human transmission and widespread of human infections that happen in at least two countries.

This alteration emerge after a Mexican boy (23 month old) died in Texas recently. This death becomes the first swine flu death cases that happens outside Mexico, where the outbreak originated. This Mexican boy fell ill while visiting his family in southern Texas earlier this month. He died on Monday night at Texas Children's Hospital.

Margaret Chan, Director General of WHO Announced the latest pandemic alert phase in Geneva after WHO emergeny meeting, she also urged all countries world wide to activate their pandemic plans, including heightened surveillance and infection-control measures. She said that several actions should be undertaken with "increased urgency", "It really is the whole of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic."

According to Data from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Swine flu virus has spread to 11 states and infecting 94 people in the United States. Another five states is Nevada, Michigan, Massachusetts, Arizona and Maine, for now each of those states has at least one confirmed case.

Governments around the world including Indonesia are struggling to make containments to this deadly disease, however, no one is ready yet to call this outbreak as a full pandemic.