Are you prepared for a swine flu pandemic?

Robert Schneider, managing principal/risk management practice leader

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) continue to track the recent outbreak of swine influenza A (H1N1), otherwise known as swine flu.

The first method employed to control the spread of any epidemic is isolation, but the ability to contain swine flu diminishes as it spreads across national borders and into metropolitan areas.

Risk-Management Considerations

Because the WHO recently upgraded the swine flu outbreak to phase five on its pandemic alert, risk managers must assess their own state of readiness. Informal canvassing indicates that it’s unlikely that many risk managers maintain any significant stockpiles of protective equipment or medications, such as Tamiflu.

New information on the swine flu outbreak is available by the minute. Here are steps risk managers may consider:

• Encourage frequent hand washing and discourage unnecessary human contact.
• To avoid spreading disease in the workplace, discourage presenteeism — a culture where employees tend to come to work sick. Keep in mind, governments can mandate school and business closings.
• Review telecommuting policies and procedures.
• Reach out to national health authorities that were involved with the potential H5N1 outbreak two years ago. Many of the procedures developed then (information dissemination, vaccine distribution, antiviral stockpiles, and the like) may still apply.
• Check local and national boards of health for travel advisories.
• Consider self-imposed travel restrictions, especially to areas where there have been cluster outbreaks. At the moment, swine flu has appeared in Mexico, New York, California, Texas, Kansas, and Ohio. That list may have grown by the time you finish reading this page.
• Evaluate situations for your overseas employees. 
• Become familiar with policies of major health authorities, especially their procedures on travel or trade restrictions, quarantines, medical stockpiles, and detecting new cases.
• Consider the direct impact on your supply chain and indirect effects on your business, including changes in consumer spending, travel patterns, delivery disruptions, employee absenteeism, ingress/egress issues in affected areas, and financial liquidity.
• Establish supply-chain and delivery alternatives.
• Review all insurance coverages, contemplating restrictions, exclusions, and, of course, coverage amounts.
• Consult your brokers and underwriters immediately if you have any questions or concerns.
• Establish mechanisms for collecting and disseminating accurate and continually updated information to management and workers.
• Activate your business-continuity plan. If you don’t have one in place, review areas where a pandemic may most seriously affect your enterprise. Identify core business functions, skills, and people, then set up a daily crisis-management meeting.