Pandemic planning: Non-pharmaceutical interventions

Ongoing concerns about the emergence of an influenza pandemic continue as the number of avian and human infections with the H5N1 virus mount. Adequate amounts of vaccine or anti-virals are unlikely to be available early on in a pandemic, and the latter could become ineffective because of resistance. These factors have focused attention on the use of non-pharmaceutical public health interventions to inhibit human-to-human transmission.