Pandemic Flu: Yes, We Can Do Something About It!

Abstract

The emergence of influenza with virulence comparable to the famous 1918-1919 “Spanish Flu” has the potential to kill hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Should we find ourselves being forced to ‘live with the flu,’ it is imperative that we recognize that there are things that we can do – many simple – that may decrease the chance of our loved ones, our co-workers and ourselves becoming infected with the flu. The key is to decrease the number of new infections created by each newly infected person. And this relates to mathematical modeling of the disease, a very simple example of which is shown here.