June 12, 2009 - Update: Influenza pandemic alert raised to phase 6
On the basis of available evidence and expert assessments of the evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met. The Director-General of WHO has therefore decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6. "The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic," she said at a press conference today.
Read Dr Chan's statement to the press

While the international community is focused on the H1N1 virus, West Africa is experiencing a meningitis epidemic that could be easily contained but has already killed 1,900 persons and infected more than 56,000.

Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) (aka Doctors without Borders) have launched one of the largest vaccination campaigns in history, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and Chad, Niger and Nigeria governments.

In order to prevent the epidemic to extend, 270 groups of MSF are on the "battle field", each group being able to vaccinate 1500 persons daily. A minimum of 7 million persons need to be vaccinated for the mass immunization campaign to be efficient.

On Monday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 3 to phase 4 (on a scale of 6), indicating that efforts to contain the spread of the virus had failed.

Keiji Fukuda, Head of the WHO Global Influenza Programme, said that outbreaks in Mexico, the U.S. and Spain demonstrate that the H1N1 virus expansion can't be hindered but does not require to close the fronters or to restrict travels, but "it is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention".

Epidemiological data demonstrate human-to-human transmission and the ability of the virus to cause community-level outbreaks.

Although not yet a pandemic, the situation has to be considered very seriously worlwide.

"It's a potential pandemic because it is infecting people." said Margaret Chan,the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), about the unknown and strange flu that has killed at least 149 people in Mexico and may have infected up to a thousand.

The alarm is also coming from the U.S., where the virus has infected height people. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that the spread of the virus appears to be out of control.

"Be prepared for the worst. The situation is very serious and we are very concerned, and we do not know if we can contain the spread of this virus" said the director of CDC's Public Health, Anne Schuchat.