With the World Health Organization having raised the alert for the H1N1 flu pandemic to its highest level — Phase 6 — the government needs to take a coolheaded approach by carefully monitoring how the pandemic evolves.

This is the first influenza pandemic since 1968, when the Hong Kong flu killed an estimated 1 million people. H1N1 flu appears to pose a lesser threat than the Spanish flu of 1918, which is estimated to have killed 40 million people. Good cooperation among WHO, national and regional governments, medical institutions and researchers could minimize its impact.

Bird flu, which has spread mainly in Asia, has a fatality rate of about 60 percent. The fatality rate of the new flu, which started in Mexico, is near 0.1 percent, close to that of seasonal influenza.

In raising the alert level, WHO said it considers the overall severity of the pandemic to be moderate, pointing out that the vast majority of people who fall ill experience mild symptoms, can be cared for at home and often recover without medical treatment.

But most people do not have immunity to the new virus. People under the age of 25 years are especially susceptible to the virus, while most cases of severe and fatal infections have occurred among people between 30 and 50. Pregnant women, people with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions or autoimmune deficiencies, and others who are obese or have diabetes are also highly susceptible to developing severe cases.

Saying that further spread of the virus appears inevitable, WHO aptly called for more emphasis on providing care and less on trying to stop the spread of the virus. It should be noted that many new cases are cropping up in Japan even in June. The present system in which people first call fever-consultation centers to receive advice on whether to go to designated hospitals would be unable to properly cope if the pandemic worsens in the fall.

The government should consider letting ordinary medical institutions treat new cases and suggest that people with light symptoms be taken care of at home. Meanwhile, main hospitals should be ready to provide intensive care to serious cases.