何謂WHO Phase of Pandemic Alert

hanpin1978

今天的頭條,應該是WHO在昨晚十點宣布將這次Swine Flu的警示由四提升到五,並不排除將之提升到六最高的等級,
這裡提供一下訊息,介紹到底一到六各代表什麼,主要來源,是WHO的網站。

In nature, influenza viruses circulate continuously among animals, especially birds. Even though such viruses might theoretically develop into pandemic viruses, in Phase 1 no viruses circulating among animals have been reported to cause infections in humans.

In Phase 2 an animal influenza virus circulating among domesticated or wild animals is known to have caused infection in humans, and is therefore considered a potential pandemic threat.

In Phase 3, an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus has caused sporadic cases or small clusters of disease in people, but has not resulted in human-to-human transmission sufficient to sustain community-level outbreaks. Limited human-to-human transmission may occur under some circumstances, for example, when there is close contact between an infected person and an unprotected caregiver. However, limited transmission under such restricted circumstances does not indicate that the virus has gained the level of transmissibility among humans necessary to cause a pandemic.

Phase 4 is characterized by verified human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to cause “community-level outbreaks.” The ability to cause sustained disease outbreaks in a community marks a significant upwards shift in the risk for a pandemic. Any country that suspects or has verified such an event should urgently consult with WHO so that the situation can be jointly assessed and a decision made by the affected country if implementation of a rapid pandemic containment operation is warranted. Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic but does not necessarily mean that a pandemic is a forgone conclusion.

Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.

Phase 6, the pandemic phase, is characterized by community level outbreaks in at least one other country in a different WHO region in addition to the criteria defined in Phase 5. Designation of this phase will indicate that a global pandemic is under way.

目前是已經到五的階段,在WHO的 region中將全世界區分為六個region,分別為:非洲區域(AFRO),歐洲區域(EURO),東南亞區域(SEARO),東地中海區域(EMRO),西太平洋區域(WPRO)以及美洲區域(AMRO),那 Phase 6中所提到的in at least one other country in a different WHO region, 其實以目前德國已有確定病例的情況下,應該也已經到達六的等級了

[ 本文最後由 hanpin1978 於 2009-4-30 09:52 編輯 ]

lesilester

ㄟ都，這是WHO針對動物流感的等級

注意看到第三級才開始所謂的交互傳染，第四級是所謂有社區大規模的"能力"(如果沒記錯出現三個疑似病例就算是社區感染)

第五級是算人頭，一區兩國家有中標就算第五級。這次疫情目前還沒有從豬身上找到類似的東西，所以確定病原體之後直接從第四級起跳。

之所以動物流感要另外設級別，是因為同一種病原體不同物種之間的感染能力跟免疫系統反應能力不一樣，所以要和那些老傳染病例如黃熱病、瘧疾霍亂分開。

第五級就是很純粹的數人頭，有一個半個中就算中，所代表的是疫情散佈的狀況，但是依舊要依照各國公共衛生系統的能力來預測其發展。

第六級則是指兩個或以上的區域內的一個或以上國家發生社區大規模感染，就此看來霍亂應該從來沒有低於第六級過。

重點在於這個級別是提供各國公共衛生部門做參考，以訂定應映計畫，而非個人，個人層面而言，不需擴大解釋，依舊是和平常一樣，注意衛生，注意自我健康管理，如果呆在公共衛生能力良好的地方，這些事情平常就有在做，那就不需要多做什麼。

另外，關於口罩，在流感中口罩是保護不了自己的(N95也一樣)，是保護別人不被自己感染的，所以需要口罩的是兩種人，第一個有症狀而進行自我健康管理的或遵照醫矚的，第二個是風險高的臨床工作者。

當然，有口罩似乎會安心點，記者拍起來也有戲劇效果點，不過那就是另外一回事了
bosm117