International Survey of Pandemic Plans Shows Flawed Priority-setting

A survey published in October 2006 surveyed 50 pandemic influenza plans and found serious flaws in the methods used to set priorities for resources and treatment plans.

The authors report that:

"Nations were urged by WHO to estimate the impact of a pandemic, yet only 40%—nearly all of which were developed nations—documented probable cases and/or deaths. We interpreted this to mean that priority setting is not consistently based on local conditions, or realities, especially in the case of the developing world. Nations should be encouraged and supported in priority setting based on individualized modeling or impact estimates."

Uscher-Pines L, Omer SB, Barnett DJ, Burke TA, Balicer RD (2006) Priority Setting for Pandemic Influenza: An Analysis of National Preparedness Plans. PLoS Med 3(10): e436.

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