New simulation model that simulates the spread of influenza showed the minor impact of the swine flu in Finland.

Researchers have used modeling to estimate the true impact of infectious diseases, such as swine flu, when underreporting can mean the surveillance from time of the pandemic can miss the vast majority of infections that occur in the population.

New research published in PLOS Computational Biology by Mikhail Shubin et al from the National Institute for Health and Welfare uses simulations to estimate the effect of the swine flu pandemic in Finland. This research offers a platform to assess the severity of flu seasons at various levels of the healthcare system, when previously the number of infected individuals has been uncertain.

The researchers built a low-scale simulation model of Finland that simulates the spread of influenza in the population. The model accounts for the transmission of influenza in the population, the impact of vaccination, outcomes of varying severity and imperfect detection of flu.

The study shows that the impact on Finland was minor, as less than 10% of the population was infected with swine flu during the first two seasons in 2009-2011, with the highest incidence of the disease initially occurring in younger people.

View the full story at www.sciencedaily.com