In a statement released this morning, the Director-General of the World Health Organization declared that the “world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic”. With 28,774 cases of H1N1 (Swine Flu) infection in 74 countries, including 144 deaths, continued spread of the disease is “considered inevitable”.

As of now, the virus has been largely non-lethal, and most affected individuals recover quickly and entirely from mild symptoms. Further, WHO, other health organizations, and world governments have had early warning about the threat of H1N1, so WHO predicts that this pandemic should be mild in severity. (Then again, a mild pandemic is still a pandemic.)

As has been widely reported, H1N1 has some notable characteristics not seen in most types of influenza. While seasonal influenzas are most deadly to elderly and frail individuals, the most severe and deadly cases of H1N1 have been reported in adults aged 30-50, many of whom had previously been healthy and fit. Further, H1N1 seems to affect younger individuals with greater frequency: most infected people worldwide are under the age of 25.

These factors suggest that H1N1 has the potential to be come a more serious issue in the coming months. The influenza has largely been seen in relatively wealthy countries, but as it spreads to the developing world, it may be far more deadly to those with limited financial and medical resources, or underlying health issues.

The WHO statement closes with both a sobering warning and a word of hope:

Influenza pandemics, whether moderate or severe, are remarkable events because of the almost universal susceptibility of the world’s population to infection.

We are all in this together, and we will all get through this, together.

Perhaps facing this challenge together will help the governments of the world to understand what a precarious position we hold on this planet.