The ongoing H1N1 flu pandemic and the intensive care community: challenges, opportunities, and the duties of scientific societies and intensivists

This year has brought a new challenge to Intensive Care Medicine. The current influenza A (H1N1) pandemic may have a disproportionate effect on the provision of Intensive Care services in Europe. These challenges cause many anxieties for practicing clinicians, both as to what to expect, how to practice and what support or help they will be given. In this statement from the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM), we aim to describe some of the facts, the fears and the areas where scientific societies can help to improve our understanding of these problems and at the same time reduce the impact of these issues for our members and their patients.