Infectious disease agents continue to be an important cause of illness and death around the world, especially in developing countries. The unexpected spread of influenza A/H5N1 virus in flocks of chicken and ducks worldwide and the fact that this virus has crossed the species barrier to infect humans has raised concerns about a potential influenza pandemic. Avian influenza has caused human disease in 15 countries around the world and, even though the current number of confirmed cases is very low, H5N1 remains a candidate for the next highly pathogenic influenza pandemic. In the case of a pandemic, low income countries most likely will have difficulties managing their health care system in order to minimize fatalities and to control the spread of the disease. The expansion of health care usage to rural areas and making sure that each of the different groups in the population can access at least minimal levels of care are current barriers to the health care system in Vietnam, and would place a large burden on society in the event of an influenza pandemic. Active surveillance and understanding how the public responds to illness are important steps for an efficient case management control of influenza. Efforts should be considered in order to better understand how the Vietnamese populations engage with the available health systems and what steps should be taken to identify gaps that need to be filled to improve the health care system and the management of a possible influenza pandemic.Master of Public Healt
