Restricting air travel may slow spread of flu
BMJ 2006; 333 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.333.7568.568-b (Published 14 September 2006) Cite this as: BMJ 2006;333:568- Janice Tanne
- New York
If an epidemic of avian influenza becomes likely, restricting airline travel might slow the spread of the disease and buy time for preventive measures, claims a study by American researchers. They showed that the spread of ordinary flu in the United States was delayed by the interruption in air travel after the attacks of 11 September 2001.
The World Health Organization and the US government are considering restricting air travel if an epidemic of H5N1 bird flu should occur.
In the study, which was published on 12 September in the online journal PLOS Medicine (doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030401), the authors used data on flu mortality from the US Centers …
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