Since global availability of vaccine and antiviral agentsagainst influenza caused by novel human subtypes is insuf-ficient, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendsnonpharmaceutical public health interventions to containinfection, delay spread, and reduce the impact of pandem-ic disease. Virus transmission characteristics will not becompletely known in advance, but difficulties in influenzacontrol typically include peak infectivity early in illness, ashort interval between cases, and to a lesser extent, trans-mission from persons with incubating or asymptomaticinfection. Screening and quarantining entering travelers atinternational borders did not substantially delay virus intro-duction in past pandemics, except in some island countries,and will likely be even less effective in the modern era.Instead, WHO recommends providing information to inter-national travelers and possibly screening travelers depart-ing countries with transmissible human infection. Theprincipal focus of interventions against pandemic influenzaspread should be at national and community levels ratherthan international borders
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