In the statement to the press on June 11, 2009, World Health Organization (WHO) announced its decision to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6.

In late April, WHO announced the emergence of a novel influenza A virus. This particular H1N1 strain has not circulated previously in humans. The virus is entirely new. The virus is contagious, spreading easily from one person to another, and from one country to another. As of today, nearly 30,000 confirmed cases have been reported in 74 countries. On the basis of available evidence, and these expert assessments of the evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met. The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic.