Tobacco is the only industry that produces products to make huge profits and at the same time damage the health and kill their consumers.

That was a time when we were really working together as an international community of academics, politicians, public health experts. Everybody really was so focused,

This change to a higher phase of alert is a signal to governments, to ministries of health and other ministries, to the pharmaceutical industry and the business community that certain actions now should be undertaken with increased urgency and at an accelerated pace.

A health system that lacks commodities for managing high-mortality infectious diseases and the main killers of mothers and young children will not have an adequate impact. By the same token, even the best-stocked delivery system will have an inadequate impact if it fails to reach the poor.

All private and public hospitals have been urged to step up infection control measures and report to the [health] department unusual pattern of illness.

When is the next time? We don't have a time frame. I suspect it will likely to be November, if history is anything to go by.