Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Who Can Declare a Pandemic and What Criteria Are Required for an Outbreak to Be Called a Pandemic?
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
COVID-19 pandemic: testing
COVID-19 pandemic: testing
COVID-19 pandemic: testing Health care workers test people for COVID-19 at a drive-through testing center in New York.

Who Can Declare a Pandemic and What Criteria Are Required for an Outbreak to Be Called a Pandemic?

Have you ever wondered who makes the call when it comes to deciding when an outbreak of disease has become severe enough to be upgraded to a pandemic?
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Written by
Kara Rogers
Kara Rogers is the senior editor of biomedical sciences at Encyclopædia Britannica, where she oversees a range of content from medicine and genetics to microorganisms. She joined Britannica in 2006 and...
Kara Rogers
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated:
Related Topics:
pandemic
See all related content

This article was originally published on March 18, 2020.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is responsible for declaring a pandemic. WHO monitors disease activity on a global scale through a network of centres located in countries worldwide and has a pandemic preparedness plan that consists of six phases of pandemic alert. Phase 1 represents the lowest level of alert and usually indicates that a newly emerged or previously existing virus is circulating among animals, with low risk of transmission to humans. Phase 6, the pandemic phase, is declared when an outbreak is characterized by globally widespread and sustained disease transmission among humans.

Kara Rogers