CABI International

Main Description

Pandemic influenza is an example of an emerging pathogen that could have, and has had, serious public health consequences. Following three global pandemics in the last 100 years and the recent avian and swine influenza outbreaks, preparedness on national and international scales is of vital importance.
With a strong emphasis on practical preparedness issues, and covering areas not dealt with by traditional texts, this book covers influenza epidemiology, vaccinology, virology and immunology, pharmaceutical and public health countermeasures, policy issues, biomathematical modelling, ethics and communication between health professionals and the public and promoting the better understanding of influenza that will be needed to battle future pandemics.
Each chapter raises five key questions at the beginning and proceeds to answer them in clear and concise sections, also providing selected papers for further reading and detailing relevant modelling studies.

Readership

Students in virology, epidemiology, infectious diseases, public health and medical sciences and for all those involved in pandemic preparedness.

Main Contents

1. Seasonal influenza: epidemiology, clinical features and surveillance
2. Basic influenza virology and immunology
3. Avian and animal influenza: manifestations in humans
4. Brief history and epidemiological features of pandemic influenza
5. Influenza transmission and related infection control issues
6. The role of emergency planning, business continuity and exercises in pandemic preparedness
7. Bio-mathematical modelling (what will and won’t work)
8. Pharmaceutical Interventions
9. Vaccines
10 National and international public health countermeasures
11 Societal and economic impacts of an influenza pandemic
12 Ethical issues related to pandemic preparedness and response
13 Communication with the public

Have you read this book, or used it for one of your courses? We would love to hear your feedback. Email Louise Rock-West (l.rock-west@cabi.org) to submit a review.

Jonathan Van-Tam, MBE BMedSci(Hons) BMBS DM FFPH FRSPH, is Professor of Health Protection at the University of Nottingham. He graduated in medicine in 1987 and after several years of clinical work, completed an academic training in epidemiology and public health, with a special interest in influenza that now spans almost 20 years. He brings a wealth of experience to this book including formative training in influenza under the mentorship of Prof Karl Nicholson, and private sector experience with two major pharmaceutical companies (both manufacturers of neuraminidase inhibitors) and a large European vaccines company. He returned to the public sector in 2007 and was Head of the Health Protection Agency Pandemic Influenza Office during the most frenetic period of UK preparedness activity from 2004-07. He has served as both Temporary Adviser and Short Term Consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding pandemic preparedness on numerous occasions, and has also undertaken related scientific work for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). He is a serving member of the UK national Scientific Pandemic Influenza Committee (SPI), its Clinical Countermeasures Sub-Group and a member of the newly formed UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). Chloe Sellwood, BSc(Hons) PhD FRSPH, works for the UK National Health Service (NHS) Strategic Health Authority (SHA) in London where she is the Pandemic Influenza Lead. She graduated in biochemistry in 1998 and completed a PhD in plant biochemistry in 2001. Her experience in pandemic preparedness ranges from international to local level, and encompasses both scientific and operational aspects. She spent over seven years at the Health Protection Agency, Centre for Infections, including three years as the Senior Scientist and Coordinator of the Pandemic Influenza Office from 2005-08. She has worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on international consultations, as well as on secondment to the Department of Health in England's Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Programme. In her current role she is responsible for the strategic overview of influenza pandemic preparedness within the National Health Service in London.