Delaying strategy

From Ganfyd

A delaying strategy means attempting to prevent spread of a disease (usually infectious) by:

• Case-finding:
  • Detecting imported infections into a community
  • Detecting first generation transmissions
• Preventive measures
  • That break chains of transmission
  • Prevent outbreaks
  • Theses include:
    • Vigorous contact tracing
    • Treatment
    • Immunisation
    • Quarantine
    • Quarantine of contacts.

With a pandemic influenza strain the main practical difficulties with the delaying strategy are: Vigorous case-finding is very labour intensive Extending action to contacts of ill incoming travellers after transmission starts occurring in the community Severity of the disease has to justify the resources mobilised.

Unlike the almost identical term containment strategy it does not imply that for the disease in hand it will be possible to prevent general transmission to the population. For highly infectious disease with only moderate or low mortality and morbidity it may be far better to use the term "delaying strategy" as containment implies that it is reasonably possible to mobilise the resources and for society and individuals to accept the costs implicate in containment.