Stages of a Pandemic
The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a global influenza preparedness plan , which defines the stages of a pandemic, outlines the role of WHO, and makes recommendations for national measures before and during a pandemic. The phases are:
Interpandemic period
UPDATE: WHO to rewrite pandemic staging descriptions
By HELEN BRANSWELL
(CP) - The World Health Organization plans to redraft the descriptions of its pandemic phases, a task triggered by the confusion provoked by the recent large cluster of human cases of H5N1 avian flu in Indonesia.
The acting head of the WHO's global influenza program says the rewrite will spell out more clearly how the agency thinks a novel influenza virus would behave during the different phases leading up to a pandemic.
The redraft should also help people understand why the WHO doesn't believe the Indonesian cluster - which killed seven of eight infected members of a family in at least three waves of illness - signifies a change in the level of pandemic risk.
Read complete article HERE.
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Phase 2: No new influenza virus subtypes have been detected in humans. However, a circulating animal influenza virus subtype poses a substantial risk of human disease.
Pandemic alert period
Phase 3: Human infection(s) with a new subtype, but no human-to-human spread, or at most rare instances of spread to a close contact.
Phase 4: Small cluster(s) with limited human-to-human transmission but spread is highly localized, suggesting that the virus is not well adapted to humans.
Phase 5: Larger cluster(s) but human-to-human spread still localized, suggesting that the virus is becoming increasingly better adapted to humans but may not yet be fully transmissible (substantial pandemic risk).
Pandemic period
Phase 6: Pandemic: increased and sustained transmission in general population.
Notes: The distinction between phases 1 and 2 is based on the risk of human infection or disease resulting from circulating strains in animals. The distinction is based on various factors and their relative importance according to current scientific knowledge. Factors may include pathogenicity in animals and humans, occurrence in domesticated animals and livestock or only in wildlife, whether the virus is enzootic or epizootic, geographically localized or widespread, and other scientific parameters.
The distinction among phases 3, 4, and 5 is based on an assessment of the risk of a pandemic. Various factors and their relative importance according to current scientific knowledge may be considered. Factors may include rate of transmission, geographical location and spread, severity of illness, presence of genes from human strains (if derived from an animal strain), and other scientific parameters.
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