Influenza – our constant companion

Abstract

On 11 June 2009, Dr Margaret Chan, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, announced to the world that following the emergence of a novel influenza A virus in late April 2009 and its extensive spread that, “I have therefore decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6. The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic.” Dr Chan also commented, “No previous pandemic has been detected so early or watched so closely, in real-time, right at the very beginning. The world can now reap the benefits of investments, over the last five years, in pandemic preparedness.” Also observed was that, “Globally, we have good reason to believe that this pandemic, at least in its early days, will be of moderate severity”.