Major issues and challenges of influenza pandemic preparedness in developing countries.
Better preparedness for an influenza pandemic mitigates its impact. Many countries have started developing and implementing national influenza pandemic preparedness plans. However, the level of preparedness varies among countries. Developing countries encounter unique and difficult issues and challenges in preparing for a pandemic. Deaths attributable to an influenza pandemic could be substantially higher in developing countries than in industrialized countries. Pharmaceutical interventions such as vaccines and antiviral agents are less likely to be available in developing countries. The public health and clinical infrastructure of developing countries are often inadequate to deal with a widespread health crisis such as an influenza pandemic. Such an event will inevitably have a global effect. Therefore, improving pandemic preparedness in every country, particularly developing ones, is urgently needed.
Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. oshitanih@mail.tains.tohoku.ac.jp
Hitoshi
H
Oshitani
Taro
T
Kamigaki
Akira
A
Suzuki
D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000600:supply & distribution; D003906:Developing Countries; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006287:Health Planning Guidelines; D006801:Humans; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000600:supply & distribution; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D007252:Influenza Vaccines