World Health Organization: Swine Flu "Pandemic Is Imminent"

The World Health Organization has "raised the alert level" of the Swine Flu, warning "pandemic is imminent,” according to the New York Times. This comes later on the same day that officials confirmed the first US swine flu fatality -- though the toddler who died was Mexican by nationality. The new alert level is "phase five" which, out of a possible six levels, means that the virus is being spread to humans by other humans. WHO officials warned that it was very likely that they would soon upgrade the warning level to "phase six." The Times' Liz Robbins reports:

Earlier on Wednesday, President Obama recommended that schools in the United States with confirmed or suspected cases of the disease “strongly consider temporarily closing.” Texas heeded the warning. It was one of 10 states that had confirmed cases on Wednesday — bringing the number of people infected by the swine flu to 91, according to Dr. Richard E. Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up from 66 cases in 5 states that were confirmed on Tuesday. More than half of the cases were in New York, 51, with 16 in Texas and 14 in California. Other states reporting cases were Massachusetts, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Indiana, Kansas and Ohio.

More countries have banned travel to and from Mexico (the US is strongly urging citizens to forgo travel unless it is vital) but but CDC and WHO officials have stated that tightened border control can do little to prevent the H1N1 virus from spreading.