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Amusing piece! The truth is that viruses do not respect well-laid plans, cannot be lectured to and certainly do not respond to 'command and control' from the centre. Ultimately what happens will depend on luck more than anything else. Our modern high mobility and interaction society makes effective prevention of transmission without huge social and economic disruption unworkable. Tamiflu is not an antiviral in the same way that antibiotics work on bacteria.

At the end of the day, it is the virulence of the virus that will count, not public health plans. At the moment, the virus seems relatively benign. If that changes, then the panic will sweep all before it.........