Photo by Eneas

More swine flu news (I know, it’s been a hot topic these last few days). The number of deaths in Mexico attributable to swine flu are up, but there have still been no deaths or hospitalizations in the US.

Also, the World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert level to 4 in response spreading of swine flu. While “alert level” may sound intimidating, level 4 only signifies that the virus is capable of sustained transmission at the community level. It doesn’t measure the lethality of the strain.

Below is a summary of the relevant WHO alert phases:

Level 2:

• Predominantly animal infections.
• Few reports of animal-to-human infection.
• No human-human transmission.
• Potential pandemic threat.

Level 3 (Incipient):

• Predominantly animal infections.
• Small clusters of community infections.
• Limited spread by human-to-human contact or only spread by close human contact.
• Large community level infection not sustainable.
• Potential pandemic threat.

Level 4 (Sustained Infection):

• Elevated numbers of human infections.
• Large clusters of infection.
• Flu strain capable of spreading during normal human-to-human contact.
• Sustained outbreaks characterized by spread through the community.
• Elevated pandemic threat.

Phase 5 (Pre-pandemic):

• Spread of the strain into at least two countries in a single WHO region
• Most countries still unaffected
• Strong signal of imminent pandemic

Phase 6 (Pandemic):

• Outbreaks between countries in two separate WHO regions.
• Global pandemic

Again, an alert level 4 does not mean that the new strain is any more deadly than the normal seasonal strains. Rather, it signifies that there is a lack of human immunity to the new strain and that the strain is capable of spreading from person to person.

Between 15 and 60 million Americans catch the flu each year (40,000 to 160,000 per day). And the CDC reports that there have been only 40 confirmed cases of swine flu (April 27, 1 PM ET) in the US. All these cases have resulted in minor symptoms.

As always, it is important to follow normal hygienic practices to prevent the spread of influenza: wash your hands, cover your coughs, stay home if you’re sick. And, in case you were wondering, eating properly cooked pork products will not spread swine flu (sorry Miss Piggie).