title: Prepare now for pandemic readiness security and patient surge.
abstract: This article, reprinted from the IAHSS newsletter Directions (Volume 20, Number 1, Fall 2006), addressed itself to concerns about the H5N1 Avian Flu. While the worst case predictions should a pandemic strike this country have not yet materialized with the H1NI Swine Flu, the threat of an H1N1 pandemic this fall or at a future date in a more virulent form, or that of another currently unknown viral threat, makes the author's recommendations, especially those concerning the role of healthcare security, timely and well worth considering.
authors.affiliation: San Mateo Medical Center, San Mateo, CA, USA.
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Petitt
mesh_terms: D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055872:Surge Capacity / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology