We have not received confirmation that the World Health Organization has raised its flu virus alert level to Level 6. This indicates that we have a flu pandemic for the first time in 41 years. As we said earlier, the raised alert level is not connect to the virulence of the virus; it simply relates to how fast it is spreading from human to human.
There have been around 27,000 reported cases in 74 countries although the actual incidence of infections will be much higher as not all cases are reported. So far there have been 141 deaths related to the swine flu virus. There have been 822 cases in the UK but no fatalities. The virus appears to cause symptoms that are relatively mild in nature although this may change as the virus develops. A few cases have resulted in complications. The Chief Medical Officer has said that there should be no cause for alarm and he has stated that the Government has a plan in place in the event of a large outbreak of the virus in the community.