BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- In the past two months, human beings have witnessed an unprecedented challenge imposed by the A/H1N1 influenza as the new disease continues to spread in the world.
On Thursday, the UN health agency raised the A/H1N1 alert to its highest level. According to the World Health Organiztion (WHO) as of Thursday, 74 countries and regions had officially reported 28,774 cases of A/H1N1 infections, including 144 deaths.
The WHO raised its A/H1N1 alert to phase six, formally declaring that it had developed into a global pandemic.
"On the basis of available evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met. I have therefore decided to raise the level of pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6, the world is now at the start of the 2009 pandemic," WHO director-general Margaret Chan told a news briefing in Geneva.
Since the A/H1N1 began to develop in Mexico in early April, and the first death in the country was reported on April 13, it has spread to more than 70 countries and regions in the world.
Neighboring United States and Canada also reported confirmed cases soon after the outbreak of the disease.
In April, the WHO raised its alert level twice from phase 3 to phase 5 due to the disease in North America. It then spread to other parts of the world, including countries and regions in Asia, South America, Europe, Oceania and Africa.
According to WHO statistics, the United States ranks first on the list of affected countries with reportedly 13,217 confirmed cases and 27 deaths, followed by Mexico with 6,241 cases and 108 deaths, and Canada with 2,446 confirmed cases and four deaths.
In South America, Chile reported 1,694 cases, including three deaths as of June 8. According to the WHO, Chile has the fourth largest number of cases.Deaths from the disease have also been reported in Colombia, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
In Asia, a number of countries and regions have reported confirmed cases since Japan registered its first case on May 16. The total number of the infected in Japan was 536 as of Thursday. Other countries in Asia, such as China, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and India, have also reported confirmed cases.
In Europe, 27 countries have so far reported A/H1N1 cases with 822 in Britain and 357 in Spain.
Chan stressed that governments and the public should have a right understanding of the word "pandemic," which mainly reflects the geographic spread of the virus, instead of the severity.
"We want to make the clarity that the higher alert level of the pandemic does not necessarily mean that we are going to see a more dangerous virus, or many more people falling severely ill or dying, " she said.
Although the WHO chief warned that countries should keep up their vigilance and avoid "complacency" because of the uncertainty of the disease, she said current assessments made by experts suggest that the first pandemic in the 21st century should be a moderate one in terms of severity.
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said on Thursday that the WHO declaration of a global pandemic does not change Mexico's approach to control its spread.
"It is a technical issue without major impact," he said.
Mexico, which has taken effective measures to minimize public activities since the outbreak of the disease and announced a state of emergency in late April, is already seeing decline and stabilization of the outbreak, Cordova said.
"The nation has seen a number of small contained outbreaks in the last few days, but all had been controlled," he said.
The U.S. health secretary said on Thursday that the United States was well prepared for the A/H1N1 pandemic.
"What this declaration does do is remind the world that flu viruses like H1N1 need to be taken seriously," Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.
Despite a limited number of cases found in the U.S., "things could possibly be very different in the fall, especially if things change in the southern hemisphere, and we need to start preparing now in order to be ready for a possible H1N1 immunization campaign starting in late September," she said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday cautioned against undue alarm while stressing the need for preparedness.
Ban said that the raising of the alert level is "a formal statement about the geographic spread of the disease" and "not in itself a cause for alarm."
"But ... we must be watchful. We do not know what picture will emerge in the coming months," he said. "The virus has hit mainly developed countries. That is likely to soon change -- and it will have consequences."
During the UN General Assembly special session on May 4 to discuss the challenge of A/H1N1, Ban called for " global solidarity" and "multilateralism" to combat the disease.
"We need to respond with a vigorous new multilateralism," Ban said, adding "that is only way to secure global public health."
Although the virus has been spreading quickly and widely, scientific research has also made great progress and has laid a sound foundation for vaccine production.
Mexico's National Autonomous University announced that its experts decoded the chromosome of the virus in late May. Canada also said it had finished the gene examination of three samples of the virus.
The WHO has also been cooperating with relevant organizations including pharmaciticual companies.
According to French media reports, a vaccine against A/H1N1 is expected to be produced this August.
Meanwhile, China also expects its first batch of vaccines to be produced as early as July.
Special Report: World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu ¡¡
