What does the WHO pandemic alert mean?
The World Health Organization has declared the 2009 H1N1 swine flu to be a pandemic. That does NOT mean that swine flu is more dangerous than it was before. The declaration means only that the WHO officially recognizes that swine flu is spreading globally — and that countries that have not yet put their flu-pandemic plans into action should do so now. Swine flu already has been spreading in the U.S., so the WHO declaration makes very little difference. U.S. health officials already have been working furiously to prepare for the fall 2009-2010 flu season.
