. Earth Science News .
Social Separation Stops Flu Spread, But Must Be Started Soon

The research investigated the effects, alone and in combination, of workplace non-attendance, school closure, isolating infected family members inside the home and reducing contact within the wider community.

BioMed Central

by Staff Writers
Perth WA (SPX) May 07, 2009 A disease spread simulation has emphasized that flu interventions must be imposed quickly, if they are to be effective. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health have shown that staying at home, closing schools and isolating infected people within the home should reduce infection, but only if they are used in combination, activated without delay and maintained for a relatively long period.

Professor George Milne and his colleagues from the University of Western Australia (UWA) simulated the effect of social distancing on the spread of a flu virus within a small town.

Their research used a detailed, individual-based model of a real community with a population of approximately 30,000 (Albany, Australia) using simulation software engineered by UWA's Dr Joel Kelso.

Milne said, "Our results suggest a critical role of combined social distancing measures in the potential control of a future pandemic. Non-pharmaceutical social distancing interventions are capable of preventing less-infectious influenza epidemics and of significantly reducing the rate of development and overall burden of the worst epidemics".

The research investigated the effects, alone and in combination, of workplace non-attendance, school closure, isolating infected family members inside the home and reducing contact within the wider community.

According to Milne, "While such draconian measures seem unlikely to be mandated given their impact on personal freedom, they appear to have a key role to play in delaying the development of a 'worst case' influenza epidemic. They may be critical in holding back an epidemic until vaccines are deployed on a sufficient scale that subsequent relaxation of these rigorous measures will not result in a consequential acceleration in the scale of the outbreak".

The measures described must, however, be employed as soon as possible after the first individuals within the population have been infected, if not preemptively.

This study found that, for an outbreak of influenza approximately as infectious as the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, the combination of all intervention measures must be introduced within 2 weeks of the first case appearing in a town or city, to prevent an epidemic developing. Delays of 2, 3 and 4 weeks resulted in final attack rates of 7%, 21% and 45% respectively.

Milne concludes, "Social distancing interventions are important as they represent the only type of intervention measure guaranteed to be available against a novel strain of influenza in the early phases of a pandemic. They may be readily activated and thought of as a first line of defence in developing and developed countries alike".

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
University of Western Australia (UWA) Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


As flu fears ease, Mexico gets ready to re-open
Mexico City (AFP) May 6, 2009
Mexico emerged Wednesday from a five-day lockdown, reopening businesses and restaurants shuttered by swine flu, as a second death from the virus was recorded over the border in the United States.







  • Six killed in avalanche in Austrian alps: rescuers
  • Mangroves Save Lives In Storms
  • Implementing Sustainable Technology To Monitor The Integrity Of Bridges
  • How Day-Planner For Astronauts Helps Firefighters

  • Arctic Trek To Break The Ice On New NASA Airborne Radars
  • Fire Is An Important And Under-Appreciated Part Of Global Climate Change
  • Super Reefs Fend Off Climate Change
  • Major powers must spearhead climate protection: Japan

  • Northern Ice Front Of Wilkins Ice Shelf Is Becoming Unstable
  • RISAT Begins Sending Images: ISRO
  • NASA's Earth Observatory: A Decade of Earth Science On Display
  • Satellites Show How Earth Moved During Italy Quake

  • Gates touts strength of US-Saudi ties
  • Analysis: Venezuela muscles private oil
  • Analysis: Russia's rising energy prices
  • Hydrogen Engine Centre Canada Takes Part In World's Biggest Hydrogen Project

  • 'Humiliating' treatment by Chinese officials: returned Mexicans
  • Social Separation Stops Flu Spread, But Must Be Started Soon
  • China says global flu situation worsening: state media
  • As flu fears ease, Mexico gets ready to re-open

  • Dolphins Maintain Round-The-Clock Visual Vigilance
  • Gray wolf withdrawn from US endangered list
  • Report Shows US Wildlife Trade Poorly Regulated
  • Preserved Proteins

  • Methylmercury contamination increasing
  • Brazil: poverty, desperation at Amazon 'El dorado'
  • Landfill Cover Soil Methane Oxidation Underestimated
  • Pollution in Chinese cities 'extremely severe': minister

  • Sugar, Spice And Puppy Dog Tails
  • Caltech Researchers Pinpoint The Mechanisms Of Self-Control In The Brain
  • In Britain, green squatters seize island
  • Tiny Genetic Differences Shed Light On The Big Picture Of Human History

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement