The World Health Organization is warning the swine flu outbreak is at the imminent stages of becoming a global pandemic. On Tuesday, the WHO raised its alert level to five, the agency’s second-highest position. There are now at least ninety-one known cases in the United States, including six new states: Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Arizona, Indiana and Nevada. In Texas, where a toddler became the first US resident to die from swine flu, Governor Rick Perry has declared a statewide disaster and closed several schools, including here in Fort Worth. Testifying on Capitol Hill, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the Obama administration is handling the outbreak as if it’s a full pandemic.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano: “There is a lot we don’t yet know about this outbreak, but we have been preparing as if we are facing a true pandemic, even though we don’t know the ultimate scope of what will occur. We also have been preparing with the understanding that this will be a marathon and not a sprint. We are going to be at this for a while.”