The World Health Organization has declared the H1N1 virus a global flu pandemic.
The declaration means the disease is spreading geographically, not that is it causing more severe illness.
So far, the virus has been reported in 74 countries and has caused 141 confirmed deaths.
The pandemic declaration means there is now more pressure on drug makers to fast-track a vaccine for the H1N1 flu.
It also means countries must be vigilant about preventing the spread of the illness.
Canada's chief public officer of health says the decision to call H1N1 a pandemic doesn't really change the way Canada is dealing with the virus.
Canada has confirmed nearly 3,000 cases and most have been a mild form of H1N1. But 138 Canadians have been hospitalized with the illness and four have died.
As of June 11, there are 216 confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza virus in Alberta.
On Thursday morning, Albert Health Services held a press conference to talk about the pandemic declaration.
"Really in terms of what we we're facing here in AB it's really our business as usual. We're really busy preparing for the next wave in the fall," says Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta's chief medical officer of health.
"We haven't seen this virus causing mass casualties, huge absences from schools, from workplaces. We haven't seen all of the pandemic theory that we read about in best sellers before this whole [pandemic] thing broke. [The virus] is actually playing itself out so should we be worried, I don't think so," says Dr. Neil Rau and infectious disease specialist.
This is the first time a pandemic has been declared in more than four decades.
