Enhancing the legitimacy of public health response in pandemic influenza planning: lessons from SARS.

The specter of avian influenza H5N1 has raised concerns globally and brought back memories of the feared 1918 influenza pandemic. Concerns about a newly mutated strain of avian influenza virus, with the capacity to become a pandemic organism with high morbidity and mortality, has spurred pandemic influenza plans at all levels of the public and private sectors across the globe. The World Health Organization is playing a central role in coordinating the development of plans and in urging member states to coordinate pandemic planning. Attendant to this rush to create pandemic plans is intense public scrutiny, including anxiety and fear. Media attention has been intense and has increased public worries about the availability of antiviral medications with individuals rushing to secure their own stock of antiviral medication. Nation states are taking actions to protect themselves and secure their borders from the incursion of avian influenza transmitted through bird species. If one reflects on the roots of the term “pandemic” and engages in a little word play and deletes the “dem” from pandemic, the result is “panic,” which is close to what we are verging on at this current time in our public fear of pandemic influenza. However, when one takes the “dem” out of pandemic (which represents the Greek word of “demos” or “people”), it becomes important that we try to re-insert some of the better aspects of human nature such as reason and reflection in our preparation. If there is YALE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 78 (2005), pp. 331-338. Copyright © 2005. All rights reserved.