researchPublished 2005
Editorial: Heading off an influenza pandemic
Together with their co-author Jeff Taubenberger from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Eddie Holmes and Bryan Grenfell have contributed an editorial to Science. They discuss how the next influenza pandemic might be prevented and managed.
They endorse a global influenza surveillance and response network covering wild birds and domestic animals as well as humans. They also call for the development and effective deployment of better intervention strategies to reduce transmission and disease — including international agreements on production and distribution of vaccines and anti-retroviral drugs. They propose that epidemiological models should be used to explore how different combinations of control measures affect disease spread.
All these steps will help mitigate the severity of a pandemic once it arises. Holmes et al. also discuss how to reduce the probability of a pandemic arising in the first place. In particular, they point out the key need for more basic research into the genetic diversity of the virus, its evolution, and the disease dynamics between pandemics.
» Read the editorial on the Science website