Pandemic, World Health Organization | featured news

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it is "getting closer" to declaring a global outbreak of the swine flu virus as the infection appears to be taking hold outside of North America.

The announcement means that despite the global spread of swine flu, with cases confirmed in 42 counties, it will probably never be declared a full-fledged pandemic.

The increasing number of swine flu cases in Japan raises the likelihood that the World Health Organization will soon have to raise its pandemic alert level to 6.

Genetic data indicate this outbreak won't be as deadly as that of 1918, or even the average winter. As the World Health Organization raised its infectious disease alert level Wednesday and health officials confirmed the first death linked to swine flu inside U.S. borders, scientists studying the virus are coming to the consensus that this hybrid strain of influenza -- at least in its current form -- isn't shaping up to be as fatal as the strains that caused some previous pandemics.

Cases of swine flu were confirmed early today in Israel and New Zealand, the first definitive proof that the dangerous new virus has spread to the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions, but international health officials said there was little point in imposing border or travel restrictions or otherwise trying to contain the virus.