The need for interdisciplinary studies of historic pandemics.

In May 2010, biomedical and social scientists from 12 countries n 4 continents convened in Copenhagen, Denmark to discuss the pidemiological, social, and public health consequences of 5 diverse andemics, the 1889 “Russian,” the 1918 “Spanish,” the 1957 Asian,” the 1968 “Hong-Kong” and the 2009 pandemics. During the Historical Influenza Pandemics: Lessons Learned” Conference, perpectives were provided by virologists, clinicians, epidemiologists, volutionary biologists, historians, sociologists, and geographers. his diversity highlighted the advantages of a multidisciplinary pproach to the study of historical pandemics. This supplement to Vaccine includes 11 original contributions hat focus on a broad range of pandemic influenza research issues, ncluding the age-specific burden of influenza in pandemic and ost-pandemic periods, transmission dynamics and mitigation trategies, co-infections, and clinical protocols [1–11]. In this ediorial, we discuss the utility of these quantitative influenza studies n helping to guide public health responses to current and future andemics in geographically diverse populations. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic sharpened our focus on past panemics: How can we use lessons learned from historic pandemics o better understand the epidemiology of the 2009 pandemic virus nd guide the public health response to recurrent waves? Historic andemics have repeatedly demonstrated that emerging viruses ollow a pattern of returning in several recrudescent waves, in some ases with the heaviest mortality burden occurring several years fter the virus first emerged. Important points that emerge from a istorical perspective include: