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| Emergency Operations Center Update on Influenza A(H1N1) June 11 |
EOC Situation Report #21
Influenza A(H1N1)
Thursday, 11 June 2009
6:00 pm, EDT
Summary
- The World Health Organization raised its global pandemic alert level to Phase 6 today. This means that sustained community transmission of a new influenza virus has now been confirmed in more than one WHO region, and that a global pandemic is now officially declared. Read the Director General's statement to the press.
- It is important to note that the change in phase reflects geographical spread of the new influenza A (H1N1) virus, and not the severity of illness that it causes.
- At this time, WHO considers the overall severity of the influenza pandemic to be moderate. This assessment is based on scientific evidence available to WHO, as well as input from its Member States on the pandemic's impact on their health systems, and their social and economic functioning.
- Countries should prepare to see cases, or the further spread of cases, in the near future. Countries where outbreaks appear to have peaked should prepare for a second wave of infection.
- Guidance on specific protective and precautionary measures has been sent to ministries of health in all countries. Countries with no or only a few cases should remain vigilant.
- Countries with widespread transmission should focus on the appropriate management of patients. The testing and investigation of patients should be limited, as such measures are resource intensive and can very quickly strain capacities.
- WHO continues to recommend no restrictions on travel and no border closures.
- PAHO will be hosting a press conference by Dr. Jon K. Andrus on the influenza pandemic on Friday, June 12, at 2pm (Washington DC time). Questions can be sent through e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For more information please check PAHO’s website.
- For the latest reports on the status of Influenza A(H1N1) in the Americas please check the daily epidemiological alerts available in the PAHO website.
Resources
- Guidance for national authorities.
- PAHO's influenza A (H1N1) portal.
- Pan American Health Organization website.
- World Health Organization website.
- For constant updates on the influenza A(H1N1) situation, check the PAHO and WHO channels in Twitter.
The PAHO/WHO Emergency Operations Center Situation Report will issue situation reports as the situation requires.
- Contact the PAHO EOC at +1 202 974 3399 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it -
Situation Reports
- Situation Report # 21, June 11 (PDF) - English - Spanish - French
- Situation Report # 20, May 22 (PDF) - English - Spanish - French
- Situation Report # 19, May 15 (PDF) - English - Spanish - French
- Situation Report # 18, May 12 (PDF) -English - Spanish - French
- WHO. Human Leptospirosis: Guidance for Diagnosis, Surveillance and Control, 2003
The target group to which these guidelines are directed consists of health workers (clinicians, laboratory technicians, microbiologists, public health workers, veterinarians and biologists with an interest in zoonoses, etc.) having no specialized knowledge of leptospirosis but who wish to be generally informed about the microorganism concerned and the disease that it may cause. This is not a handbook and avoids technical detail, but the interested reader can find further information in the Annexes and the general bibliography. - PAHO. Zoonoses and Communicable Diseases Common to Man and Animals, 2003
This series provides a detailed overview of the most important historic and emerging zoonotic diseases, such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, foot-and-mouth disease, influenza, giardiasis, Japanese encephalitis, shigellosis, and spongiform encephalopathies, with information ranging from their first appearance and most important outbreaks to the latest scientific knowledge of the diseases and their causative agents. - WHO. Recommended surveillance standards - Second edition, 1999 (Leptospirosis p.77)
This document has been produced jointly by technical clusters of WHO, as well as by UNAIDS, in order to bring together WHO recommended standards for the surveillance of communicable diseases. The purpose of this manual is to be a handy reference for key elements and contact information for all communicable diseases / syndromes associated with current WHO control programmes. - WHO. Report of the First Meeting of the Leptospirosis Burden Epidemiology Reference Group, 2010
The Leptospirosis Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (LERG), convened as an advisory group to the Director-General of WHO, is tasked with quantifying and describing the leptospirosis burden in different populations, using summary measures of mortality and disability, such as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The first meeting of the LERG was held on 2–4 December 2009. - WHO. Report of the Second Meeting of the Leptospirosis Burden Epidemiology Reference Group, 2011
The second meeting of the Leptospirosis Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (LERG) was held on 22–23 September 2010 in Geneva, to further the work to estimate the global burden of human leptospirosis.
WHO. Human Leptospirosis: Guidance for Diagnosis, Surveillance and Control, 2003