Abstract:
On April 25, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Committee [established in accordance with International Health Regulations (IHR-2005)] provided its view to Margaret Chan, Director General of WHO, that an influenza A/H1N1 outbreak represented a “public health emergency of international concern.” On April 27, 2009, after the second meeting of the emergency committee, Chan raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from Phase 3 to Phase 4. At that time some additional announcements were made, including the following: (1) Given the widespread presence of the virus, the director general considered that containing the outbreak was not feasible. The focus should be on mitigation measures; and (2) The director general recommended not closing borders and not restricting international travel. This paper discusses the practical application of these recommendations by WHO (www.who.int/en/).
