NEW YORK, June 3 (UPI) -- The growing number of H1N1 flu cases worldwide has the World Health Organization in New York contemplating raising its warning level to Phase 6.
"Globally, we are at Phase 5, but we are nearing Phase 6," Dr. Keiji Fukuda, director general of WHO, said Tuesday. "As this continues to spread internationally, some countries are moving from isolated to sustained community spread."
Phase 6, the highest level on WHO's alert system, means a disease has become a global pandemic. Fukuda said it does not reflect the severity of the disease, but how widespread it is, CNN reported.
"Our overall assessment of severity is moderate," he said, "because although the overall number of serious and fatal cases is relatively limited . We really don't have a full handle on the number of people with serious illness."
Fukuda said nearly 19,000 cases of the so-called swine flu have been reported in 64 countries, resulting in 117 deaths, the U.S. news network reported.
