A review of 49 states’ pandemic flu plans found widespread disparities in measures to detect and control respiratory disease pandemics, according to a report by the Research Triangle Institute International. The confusion among the state plans prompted the researchers to call for federal health officials to provide additional direction and guidance as well as answers to epidemiological questions so that states are better prepared. The report, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, found that few state plans included guidelines for personal avoidance steps during a pandemic, such as staying home from work, keeping sick children at home, and avoiding mass gatherings. The state plans also lacked specificity in proposing practical containment measures in the community. Eight states were developing procedures for screening international travelers, but international airport hubs such as Chicago and Atlanta did not yet include plans for international traveler quarantine and testing. State plans also lacked an agreed-upon definition of geographic clustering of cases or the number of people infected that would trigger the declaration of a pandemic.
