The response to the pandemic included clinical and public health measures. In developed countries, such as Australia, the clinical response was effective for those whose illnesses were serious [4] . Clinical care will very likely have reduced the number of deaths due to pandemic influenza [5] , although the use of extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation was seen as a last resort and was not supported by the conclusions of a systematic review [6] . In developed and developing countries, the public health response focused on both the individual and the population. Individual responses promoted attention to personal hygiene, with an emphasis on cough hygiene and hand washing, which may not have been optimal [7] , and the use of personal protective equipment for those considered to be at increased risk of infection [8] . Population-based public health responses to the pandemic focused on two major elements: non-pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical interventions. The former comprised border control and various elements of social distancing, while the latter focussed on anti-viral medication for treatment and/or prophylaxis, and the development of a strain-specific vaccine.