Influenza Pandemic Emergency Plan 
Information about the A/H1N1-Virus
WHO-pandemic levels
Symptoms and danger of infection
Pandemic emergency plan
excerpt
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The WHO-pandemic phases
The WHO (World Health Organization) acts on the assumption of 6 pandemic levels:
According to statements of WHO the world currently (August 2009) is in Level 6.
Phase 1 - Interpandemic period |
|
Level 1 |
No new influenza virus has been detected in humans. Subtypes that have caused human infection at an earlier date may be present in animals.The risk of human infection or disease is considered to be low. |
Level 2 |
No new influenza virus subtypes have been detected in humans. However, a circulating animal influenza subtype poses a substantial risk of human disease. |
Phase 2 - Pandemic alert |
|
Level 3 |
Human infections with a new subtype, but no human to human spread, or at most rare instances of spread to a close contact. |
Level 4 |
Small clusters with limited human-to-human transmission. But spread is highly localized, suggesting that the virus is not well adapted to humans. |
Level 5 |
Large clusters but human-to-human spread still localized. However, it can be suggested that virus is becoming better adapted to humans, but may not yet be fully transmittable – substantial pandemic risk. |
Phase 3 - Pandemic period |
|
Level 6 |
Increased and sustained transmission of the virus in general population. Several outbreaks in at least one country outside the EU with an sustained transmission of the virus from human to human and transmission to other countries. |
Phase 4 - Postpandemic period |
|
Level 7 |
Return to Phase 1 – Interpandemic period (level 1+2) or return to Phase 2 - Pandemic warning period (level 3+4). |