This equates to a cost saving of 70,000 dollar per 1,000 population which would save 21 billion dollar in the US alone versus no intervention. Adding other strategies such as school closures further reduces the attack and death rate and provides a health benefit at a reasonable cost. The research also showed that pre-pandemic vaccination programmes would play an important role but their effectiveness would be dependent upon how well the vaccine was matched to the virus.
“The World Health Organisation provides a strong recommendation for the use of Tamiflu for the prevention of avian flu in people who have been in contact with someone who is known, or suspected of being infected with the virus,” commented Professor Ira Longini, Professor of Biostatistics and Mathematics at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
“This research suggests that a similar approach may also be an effective strategy in the event of an actual pandemic outbreak, especially as it is unlikely that a vaccine fully matched to the strain will be available in the initial wave of a pandemic.”
Source-Eurekalert
JAY/M