An epidemic is declared when a disease spreads quickly and suddenly and affects a large number of people in a community or in a given area. This is the case with the “epidemics” of gastro or seasonal flu that appear every winter.
We speak of a pandemic when an epidemic extends beyond the borders of countries and spreads on a global scale, affecting millions of people when they are not immune.
In the past, an influenza pandemic took between 6 and 9 months to reach all parts of the world. Today, with travel and air transport, viruses can affect all parts of the world at the same time.
6 alert levels
Level 1 : A subgroup of the virus begins in an animal but does not affect humans.
Level 2 : An animal influenza virus causes infections in humans.
Level 3: The disease occurs sporadically in some communities. Human-to-human transmission is not sufficient to cause an epidemic.
Level 4: Small clusters of cases of the disease are appearing, but the spread is very localized, suggesting that the virus is not well adapted to humans. The main goal is to delay its spread to save time in order, for example, to develop a vaccine.
We have been at this level since April 27.
Level 5: Human-to-human transmission occurs in more than one country listed by the WHO.
Level 6: Large foci of human cases are recorded in various countries listed by the WHO, with no possible reversibility. We are moving towards the declaration of a pandemic.
