The use of voluntary home quarantine, social distancing, and school dismissal to prevent the transmission of pandemic influenza is a standard inclusion in most countries pandemic plans [27] [28] [29] . However, lower acceptance of isolation and social distancing, which can disrupt routine and enjoyable activities, has been observed in prior studies [30, 31] . When participants were asked to comment on how they felt about the use of these interventions they stated that they were not in favour of adopting these actions and would find them extremely difficult to comply with. During an outbreak of pandemic H1N1 virus infection at a large public university in April 2009, Mitchell et al. undertook an online survey of students, faculty, and staff to assess knowledge of and adherence to university recommended non-pharmaceutical interventions [24] . They found that amongst the students with an acute respiratory infection (ARI), 44 % reported leaving campus for >1 day while sick, 35 % had visitors and only 34 % reported missing days of class. Most students attended class or work, went out in public, and participated in purely social activities (including having visitors) while having an ARI. Aside from not wanting to miss these important events, it could be suggested that low risk perceptions and mixed messages about the severity of the 2009 influenza H1N1 pandemic and about the actual need for isolation and social distancing would probably have contributed to a low acceptance rate.