A crisis: fear toward a possible H5N1 pandemic.

This survey investigated individuals' fear when faced with a possible H5N1 human-to-human pandemic. It was conducted in Taiwan toward the end of 2005 with 452 participants, including physicians, nurses, and university students. The results showed that for physicians and nurses, the perceived possibility of an avian flu outbreak and the belief that hospitals lacked sufficient infection control measures contributed to their personal fear of an avian flu epidemic. For students, the perceived possibility of avian flu being a threat to humans contributed to their personal fear. With sufficient, up-to-date information, unnecessary fear, and/or panic can be avoided.