Pandemic: Home

Current World Health Organization Phase of Alert

Experts at WHO and elsewhere believe that the world is now closer to another influenza pandemic than at any time since 1968, when the last of the previous century's three pandemics occurred. WHO uses a series of six phases of pandemic alert as a system for informing the world of the seriousness of the threat and of the need to launch progressively more intense preparedness activities.

The designation of phases, including decisions on when to move from one phase to another, is made by the Director-General of WHO.

Each phase of alert coincides with a series of recommended activities to be undertaken by WHO, the international community, governments, and industry. Changes from one phase to another are triggered by several factors, which include the epidemiological behaviour of the disease and the characteristics of circulating viruses.

The world is presently in phase 3: a new influenza virus subtype is causing disease in humans, but is not yet spreading efficiently and sustainably among humans.

March 07, 2007 OSHA Unveils New Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for Influenza Pandemic
The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today unveiled new workplace safety and health guidance that will help employers prepare for an influenza pandemic. (read more..)

March 07, 2007 2,000 Influenza Virus Genomes Now Completed and Publicly Accessible
The Influenza Genome Sequencing Project, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced that it has achieved a major milestone. (read more..)

February 26, 2007 Pandemic Mitigation
The best protection against pandemic influenza—a vaccine that is well-matched to the virus causing illness—is not likely to be available at the outset of a pandemic. (read more..)