Public Health Informatics and the H1N1 Pandemic

On June 11th 2009, Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), announced that the Influenza alert level was being raised from a Phase 5 to Phase 6 indicating the start of the 2009 Pandemic. The pandemic resulted from a previously uncirculated strain of H1N1 Influenza which spread rapidly in the spring of 2009. The second wave of the pandemic began as schools reopened in the late summer. At the time of the writing of this commentary, H1N1 was widely spread in 48 states and Canada. Due to the intensive surveillance and preparedness activities surrounding a rapidly spreading avian H5N1 influenza, the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were able to closely monitor the progression of the H1N1 strain in the human population and initiate an accelerated vaccination program. This heightened activity comes at a time of reduced budgets for state and local health departments who have primary responsibility for monitoring and containment within their jurisdictions.