The Australian journal of rural health
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Aust J Rural Health · Apr 2011
Comparative StudyEstimation of the reproductive number for the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza in rural and metropolitan New South Wales.
During the early stages of pandemics, when resource planning occurs, the epidemiological parameters of the agent are often poorly described. These estimates are typically derived from metropolitan centres. This paper examines the spread of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus in rural and regional New South Wales compared with metropolitan centres. ⋯ The apparent invariance in the rate of spread of influenza between rural and metropolitan areas should provide rural health care providers with confidence in metropolitan derived estimates when planning in future influenza pandemics.