Review of Australia’s Health Sector Response to Pandemic (H1N1) 2009: Lessons Identified

Chapter 5: Public Health Measures

Page last updated: October 2011

Key Findings

  • Rapid development of the new pandemic phase PROTECT showed that Australia has a flexible public health response system.
  • Changes of case definitions were challenging and resource intensive. The content and rationale for changes could be better communicated to clinicians and laboratories.
  • Antiviral medications were an effective public health measure for the protection of the vulnerable and the treatment of severe cases.
  • Communication of infection control messages to the public is important in reducing the risk of infection during all pandemic phases, with the basic messages not changing with the different phases.
  • Development of generic infection control advice or guidelines for a pandemic to cover all settings should be considered.
  • Quarantine (home isolation, school closures) as a public health measure is a challenge.
  • The role of ‘flu clinics’ during pandemics of differing severity needs to be clearly defined.
Text box 5: Public health measures guidance from AHMPPI 2008

Objective
  • Operational objective 2: Minimise transmission.
    • 2.3 Slow the spread in the community.
Purpose
  • The primary objective of these countermeasures is to reduce transmission, and therefore to reduce the overall number of cases and deaths.
  • Secondary objectives are to flatten the epidemic peak; to reduce the peak burden on the healthcare system; to permit the completion of final preparations; and to develop and begin production of pandemic vaccine.
Governance
  • The health sector’s role is to provide advice to government with respect to effectiveness and timing of measures.

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