Qué significa fase 5?

La falta de información lleva a la paranoia. La OMS ha declarado la fase de alerta 5 y esto suena como los huracanes de nivel 5 o los grados en la escala de Richter para medir temblores, pero no es así. Las fases sirven para coordinar el trabajo de los Centros Nacionales de Influenza para contener la enfermedad. Como verán abajo, y en el documento, se trata de reglas claras que están previamente determinadas y que la OMS no necesita aclarar cada vez, sino que simplemente decreta la fase X y los Centros deberán responder a lo ya establecido.

La OMS tiene un documento: El Rol de los Centros Nacionales de Influenza en caso de una Interpandemias, periodos de Pandemia o alertas pandémicas. En él se explican las 5 fases:

Because the objectives and actions of the National Influenza Centers (NICs) at different pandemic preparedness phases are closely linked to the same periods defined in the WHO influenza preparedness plan, the recommendations in this document are divided as follows:

• During the INTERPANDEMIC PERIOD as part of routine seasonal influenza
surveillance, NICs should always be alert to non-subtypable or low-reacting virus
isolates using the WHO diagnostic reagents provided through the GISN. NICs
should assist national authorities in properly integrating laboratory-related
components into the framework of national pandemic preparedness plans;
strengthen NIC capacity to prepare for the Pandemic Alert period; and establish
intersectoral collaboration.

• During the PANDEMIC ALERT PERIOD NICs should be able to detect new subtype
influenza infection in humans as early as possible, and assist national authorities
in the development, amendment and implementation of the national preparedness
plan. NICs should also take responsibility for assisting WHO in related public
health activities, including prototype pandemic vaccine strain selection, review
and update; pandemic risk assessment; diagnostic reagents and protocols
development, validation and update; and antiviral susceptibility monitoring. NICs
should also build in surge capacity to meet challenges such as inputting large
numbers of specimens for diagnosis under time pressure during this period.

• During the PANDEMIC PERIOD NICs in countries not yet affected should
maximize surveillance to detect the start of the pandemic as early as possible in
order to trigger relevant and timely national interventions. In affected countries,
NICs should review and adjust the objectives of virological surveillance from
early detection of each case to monitoring the progression of the pandemic, while
maintaining adequate surveillance to ensure the monitoring of antigenic drift,
antiviral susceptibility, and virulence in the pandemic virus. In countries with
subsided epidemic waves, NICs should review and rebuild capacity for the early
detection of any subsequent waves.

In order to further match individual NIC objectives and actions with the WHO
recommended national measures, the above sections have also been divided into the
same five categories as the WHO plan, namely:
• planning and coordination;
• situation monitoring and assessment;
• prevention and containment;
• health system response; and
• communications.
In practice there is likely to be great variation from country to country in the
capabilities of NICs and the roles they undertake. Ultimately, the fulfilment of the
WHO TORs and the implementation of the recommendations made in each of these
areas will depend largely upon the commitment of national authorities and upon
available resources.

INTERPANDEMIC PERIOD
Phase 1 – Risk of human infection with new influenza subtypes considered to be none
or low
Phase 2 – A circulating animal influenza subtype virus poses a substantial risk of
human disease

PANDEMIC ALERT PERIOD
Phase 3 – Human infection with a new subtype, but no (or very rare) human-tohuman
spread
Phase 4 – Small cluster(s) with limited and localized human-to-human spread
Phase 5 – Larger cluster(s) but human-to-human spread still localized (substantial
pandemic risk)