Bruce Wallace
On June 15, 2007, the 2005 revision of the International Health Regulations went into effect and became binding law for 196 nations, including all of the World Health Organization's Member States. According to the IHR, a public health emergency of international concern is "an extraordinary incident that may present a public health danger to other nations through the international transmission of illness and may necessitate an international coordinated response. Any public health incident that satisfies any two of the subsequent four criteria must be reported to the WHO, according to the IHR. Is this incident likely to have a negative impact on public health; is it unusual or unexpected; may it spread internationally; and could there be travel and trade restrictions as a result of this occurrence. Declaring a PHEIC is meant to draw attention to those urgent public health threats that could travel over international boundaries and represent a hazard to people everywhere and "demand coordinated mobilisation of extraordinary resources by the international community" for prevention and response.
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