Commentary on Community Mitigation of Pandemic Influenza

Eric Toner

eInfluenza Review. April 2007: Volume 1, Number 6. © JHUSOM, IJHN, and eInfluenza Review

Introduction: The Department of Health and Human Services’ planning assumptions for an unmitigated and severe (1918-like) pandemic include 9.9 million hospitalizations in the U.S. with 1.5 million patients requiring intensive care, figures which are several times the available capacity of the healthcare system. In fact, the U.S. healthcare system would be seriously challenged by even a mild pandemic. For this reason, public health interventions which might reduce this disease burden have attracted much interest.

Note: Full article available on publisher's website..