While public health emergencies crop up from time to time, it is critical that public health stakeholders be prepared to address emergency situations whenever they occur. The spread of influenza is one such public health emergency that stakeholders should be ready to address. Addressing these situations requires a number of steps to be taken: communication must be instrumental in conveying the urgency of the situation among medical personnel, researchers, governmental authorities, and so on, so that everyone is abreast of the situation and on the same page. An agreed upon method of response should also be established, so that the necessary actions can be implemented without hesitation or time lost because of unpreparedness.
Preventing the spread of disease is the top concern in a public health emergency. Prevention requires using all the means at one’s disposal—from the media (through which alerts can be given and calm,...
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