The World Health Organisation said today it was keeping its global pandemic alert at level 5 out of 6, given the H1N1 flu strain has not yet gained momentum outside the Americas, according to Reuters. Sylvie Briand, acting director of the WHO's global influenza programme, said most people infected with the new strain around the world had imported the virus by travelling to Mexico or being in close proximity with those who had. "We still remain in stage five. We have no evidence of community transmission," Briand told a news conference, where she announced Brazil's first four infections with the new flu. The emergence and spread of the H1N1 strain caused the WHO to increase its pandemic alert warning to its second-highest level last week after some people died from it in Mexico. Phase 5 indicates a pandemic is "imminent" and signals that governments worldwide should get ready to fight it. To reach Phase 6, the WHO would have to see the new virus spreading in a sustained way in a country outside the Americas. Confusion over that six-point scale -- which reflects WHO views about how quickly a new virus is spreading, and not the severity of its effects -- has prompted growing calls for it to be reviewed and revamped. But WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said such a change was far from the top priority as the Geneva-based agency keeps an eye out for a possible acceleration of the disease. "That is not something that we are concentrating on at the moment," he said. The H1N1 strain, widely known as swine flu, has killed otherwise healthy young adults in Mexico, but caused relatively mild symptoms elsewhere. Briand said one reason for that difference is that many of the early patients did not seek medical care in time. People with other health problems including tuberculosis and cardiovascular ailments were also especially susceptible to the new strain, just like they are to seasonal flu, Briand said. "One factor is these people arrived very late in health care facilities," she said, citing information relayed from clinicians in Mexico. "Treatment was applied very late in the course of disease." WHO laboratories have confirmed 44 deaths from the strain, all but two in the disease epicentre of Mexico. Earlier on Friday, the WHO said it was considering cutting the length of its annual World Health Assembly scheduled for later in May to allow government officials to return promptly to their countries and keep monitoring the virus spread. Briand said the emphasis now was on finding ways to contain the virus and keep it away from potentially vulnerable patients, like those with other diseases. "The intention now is to reduce the spread and have time to better respond, she said.
