Pandemic Severity Assessment Framework

The Pandemic Severity Assessment Framework (PSAF) is an evaluation framework published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016 which uses quadrants to evaluate both the transmissibility and clinical severity of an influenza pandemic and to combine these into an overall impact estimate.[1] Clinical severity is calculated via multiple measures including case fatality rate, case-hospitalization ratios, and deaths-hospitalizations ratios, while viral transmissibility is measured via available data among secondary household attack rates, school attack rates, workplace attack rates, community attack rates, rates of emergency department and outpatient visits for influenza-like illness.[2][3]

The PSAF superseded the 2007 linear Pandemic Severity Index (PSI), which assumed 30% spread and measured case fatality rate (CFR) to assess the severity and evolution of the pandemic.[3][4] The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adopted the PSAF as its official pandemic severity assessment tool in 2014,[4] and it was the official pandemic severity assessment tool listed in the CDC's National Pandemic Strategy at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

  1. ^ Roos, Robert (24 April 2017). "New CDC guidelines on flu pandemic measures reflect 2009 lessons". Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  2. ^ Reed, Carrie; Biggerstaff, Matthew; Finelli, Lyn; Koonin, Lisa M.; Beauvais, Denise; Uzicanin, Amra; Plummer, Andrew; Bresee, Joe; Redd, Stephen C.; Jernigan, Daniel B. (January 2013). "Novel framework for assessing epidemiologic effects of influenza epidemics and pandemics". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 19 (1): 85–91. doi:10.3201/eid1901.120124. ISSN 1080-6059. PMC 3557974. PMID 23260039.
  3. ^ a b Qualls, Noreen; Levitt, Alexandra; Kanade, Neha; Wright-Jegede, Narue; Dopson, Stephanie; Biggerstaff, Matthew; Reed, Carrie; Uzicanin, Amra (21 April 2017). "Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza — United States, 2017" (PDF). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 66 (RR-1). Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 1–34. doi:10.15585/mmwr.rr6601a1. ISSN 1057-5987. PMC 5837128. PMID 28426646. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  4. ^ a b Holloway, Rachel; Rasmussen, Sonja A.; Zaza, Stephanie; Cox, Nancy J.; Jernigan, Daniel B. (26 September 2014). "Updated Preparedness and Response Framework for Influenza Pandemics" (PDF). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 63 (RR-6). Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 1–18. ISSN 1057-5987. PMID 25254666. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020. This report provides an update to the 2008 framework to reflect experiences with 2009 H1N1 and recent responses to localized outbreaks of novel influenza A viruses. The revised framework also incorporates the recently developed Influenza Risk Assessment Tool (IRAT) (12) and Pandemic Severity Assessment Framework (PSAF) (13)...PSAF replaces the Pandemic Severity Index as a severity assessment tool (13).
  5. ^ "Pandemic Severity Assessment Framework (PSAF)". National Pandemic Strategy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 3 November 2016. Archived from the original on 4 May 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.