Another Swine Flu Concern: Internet Traffic Jams

Last week President Obama declared swine flu a national emergency. The action -- which the White House called a formality -- alerts the public of risks, raises awareness for the vaccine and formally expedites disaster plans should hospitals get overwhelmed.

According to a new report, there's one potential problem the government didn't take into account when it comes to a possible flu pandemic: as more people stay away from work and school and use their computers at home, local internet networks could become overwhelmed and crash.

The Government Accountability Office said it is not clear whether the federal government is ready to deal with such a problem, according to the Washington Post.

During a national emergency, the Department of Homeland Security is in charge of communications networks, but it doesn't have a plan to deal with overloaded internet networks. The DHS hasn't coordinated with the Federal Communications Commission or other agencies to draw up rules for how internet providers can minimize congestion.

The GAO report was commissioned by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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