Australia's Winter with the 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Virus

Abstract
When the World Health Organization declared a “public health emergency of international concern” on April 25, 2009, after the emergence in Mexico of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus, Australia activated its well-rehearsed plan for response to pandemic influenza.1 The Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza is a strategic outline, based on evidence and international best practices, of actions and interventions that the health care community should consider taking during a pandemic. It describes the planning assumptions, the phases of a response, and the key actions that minimize a pandemic's effects on the population and the health care community. Over the subsequent 6 weeks, the implementation of border-control measures — including requirements that travelers entering Australia declare whether they have symptoms of influenza or have been in contact with someone with severe respiratory illness and that contacts of persons with known influenza be traced — gave the health care community time to learn more about the natural history of the new influenza strain.2

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