Good communications halts disease

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Article Date: 17 May 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Better communications will improve the chances of stopping the spread of communicable diseases, Sian Griffiths, president of the Faculty of Public Health, told conference.

Recently returned from a trip to Hong Kong to investigate lessons from the Sars outbreak, Prof Griffiths commended the introduction of open reporting between countries as a practical way of tackling 'super-spreaders' - people who covered vast distances by modern transport, leaving germs in their wake.

The tendency for 'misunderstanding and misinformation', seen in the Sars epidemic, could be helped by a public health approach, said Prof Griffiths, with 'everyone pulling together for the common good'.

by Claire Brown
http://www.publichealthnews.com