Urbanization and preparedness for outbreaks with high-impact respiratory pathogens

Overview

Epidemics in urban environments present public health challenges that affect local, national and global health security as much as having a sizeable impact on society and the economy. We identify factors specific to urban areas that increase the spread of high-impact respiratory pathogens. They are related to the population, environment and inequity. Many of these factors are interconnected and may differ between cities. We will focus on the factors that are more universally applicable for urban preparedness. Factors will vary, even within a city, and local governments should always consider specific local factors such as governance, structure of the health care system, sociocultural norms,
climate and geographic location in epidemic preparedness and response.