How would travel restrictions slow down flu pandemic?

Answer 1

In a flu pandemic, an influenza virus is spreading rapidly and broadly. When termed a pandemic instead of epidemic, the flu has already spread across very large areas of countries and continents and will continue to do so as people cross from an area with infected people to an area not yet infected.

When traveling, you are usually in crowded places touching public facilities and carrying the virus to infect more people. The flu pandemic is spread through direct human to human contact or with coughs and sneezes or by touching things people who have the flu have touched relatively soon after they did.

The virus can be still "alive" on surfaces like chairs in public places or seats in the different modes of transportation for around two hours. If people are traveling with the flu, they are passing it to all the people they come in contact with and the public areas they utilize. They will spread the disease farther and farther.

You can be spreading the flu to people before you even know you have it, (one or two days before you have any symptoms). So sometimes restricting all travel would prevent someone with the flu from going to where the flu has not yet reached and taking it there perhaps even unknowingly.

An example:

If one person in 1000 in a particular country had Swine Flu and 66,000 people from that country traveled to other countries, then on average 66 of those travelers could be spreading swine flu to the other countries as they travel. If restrictions in non-essential travel meant that only 2000 people would travel, then, on average, only 2 of these people would be spreading the infection, so the rate of infection spread would obviously be significantly slower.

Answer 2

Less travelling between countries would slow down the opportunities for the disease to spread. If one person in 1000 in a particular country had swine flu and 66000 people from that country travelled to other countries then on average 66 of those travellers would be spreading swine flu to other countries. If travel restrictions meant that only 2000 people could travel abroad then on average only 2 of these people would be spreading the infection, so the rate of infection spread would obviously be significantly slower.