Will travel restrictions control the international spread of pandemic influenza?

A key question in contingency planning for a possible influenza pandemic is the value of restricting international travel to and from affected countries or regions, or imposing entry or exit screening of passengers at airports1. The potential for infectious diseases to spread rapidly through an increasingly well-connected, steadily growing world population2, 3, 4, 5 was brought into sharp focus during the 2003 epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).