Influenza, whether seasonal or pandemic, has always been an unpredictable disease. While an influenza pandemic is considered inevitable, its timing and impact cannot be predicted and will not be known until the pandemic virus emerges. The factors that will affect the impact of a pandemic include:

• Characteristics of the virus - attack rate, affected age groups, virulence (rates of complications and death) and speed of spread;
• Effectiveness of the response – vaccines, antiviral drugs, and public health measures; and
• Public behaviour.

Key Planning Assumptions (PDF 4 pages, 37KB)

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Table of contents:

• Table of Contents (PDF 97KB, 2 pages)
• List of Figures, Tables, and Abbreviations (PDF 39KB, 3 pages)
• Acknowledgements (PDF 30KB, 1 page)
• Executive Summary (PDF 38KB, 4 pages)
  
  Section 1: Overview
  • Introduction (Chapter 1)
  • Background on Influenza and Pandemics (Chapter 2)
  • Key Planning Assumptions (Chapter 3)
  • Health and Social Infrastructure in Peel Region (Chapter 4)
• 
  Section 2: Concept of Operations
  • Roles and Responsibilities (Chapter 5)
  • Emergency Response and the Incident Management System (Chapter 6)
  • Authority and Legislation (Chapter 7)
• 
  Section 3: Response Components
  • Surveillance (Chapter 8)
  • Vaccine (Chapter 9)
  • Antiviral Drugs (Chapter 10)
  • Public Health Measures (Chapter 11)
  • Health Services (Chapter 12)
  • Communications (Chapter 13)
  • Natural Death Surge Planning (Chapter 14)
  • Health Sector Planning and Response by Pandemic Phase (Chapter 15)
    
    
• Section 4: Planning and Preparedness
  • Health Sector Planning and Preparedness (Chapter 16)
  • Training and Exercises (Chapter 17)