Epidemics: the end of containment measures?

Limiting population movements during an epidemic outbreak may not always be the best approach. This type of response may adversely affect a society's ability to resume functioning normally, according to an EPFL study. When an epidemic outbreak - such as those caused by the H1N1, Zika or SARS viruses - takes place, containment measures may seem to be the most reasonable solution. However, an EPFL study casts doubt on that idea, showing that such measures make a society less resilient and less able to quickly return to their pre-epidemic economic and social situation. The study, published in Nature Scientific Reports , coincides with another publication on the same subject but based on other mathematical models, published in December. That study also compared the advantages of containment measures with those of non-intervention, and reached the same conclusion: preventing people from travelling and encouraging them to reduce their social interaction is not always the best way to deal with an epidemic outbreak. "In this field, thinking in terms of cost/benefit is a fairly new development," explained Emanuele Massaro, first author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at EPFL's Laboratory for Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems (HERUS).