The World Health Organization has issued a statement warning that it is close to declaring the swine flu (H1N1 virus) a global pandemic. If the organization issues a pandemic alert, it is expected to recommend new cautionary measures.
"Globally we believe we are at phase 5, but getting closer to phase 6,” WHO official Keiji Fukuda said in a statement Wednesday. The virus was put at “phase 5” when it became clear that the flu spread easily between people, and may move to “phase 6” as it continues to spread internationally.
Confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in 64 countries, including Israel. While under 20,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide, medical experts suspect that many more cases of swine flu exist.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States has reported at least 10,000 cases of swine flu in that country, but has also warned that the true number of cases in the U.S. is probably closer to 200,000.
The virus has caused relatively few deaths. A total of 99 deaths have been conclusively linked to swine flu, most of them in Mexico, where the virus was first reported.
At least 36 cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Israel. While most cases were contracted abroad, particularly in Mexico and the United States, for the first time last week, two cases of swine flu were confirmed as having been contracted within Israel.