Swine flu: watching for signs of H1N1 havoc

For security professionals in charge of pandemic planning, swine flu cases unfolding in the lands down under may offer clues into what the rest of the world is in for this fall and winter.

In another report from the Reuters news agency, Dr. Anne Schuchat from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, "We are concerned that there will be challenges in the fall."

Whatever the case, disaster preparedness professionals in this hemisphere should be watching, learning and planning. [See also: Swine Flu: A Wake-Up Call for Emergency Planners]

On the physical side, private entities should be hammering out a game plan for who would do what and where if the government decided to restrict our movements to contain an outbreak.

Kevin Nixon, an emergency planning expert who has testified before Congress and served on infrastructure security boards and committees including the Disaster Recovery Workgroup for the Office of Homeland Security and the Federal Trade Commission, puts it this way:

"Companies and employers that have not done so are being urged to establish a business continuity plan should the government direct state and local governments to immediately enforce their community containment plans." [Podcast: How to Prepare for a Swine Flu Pandemic]

If the Federal government does direct states and communities to implement their emergency plans, recommendations, based on the severity of the pandemic, may include:

  • Asking ill people to voluntarily remain at home and not go to work or out in the community for about 7-10 days or until they are well and can no longer spread the infection to others (ill individuals may be treated with influenza antiviral medications, as appropriate, if these medications are effective and available.
  • Asking members of households with a person who is ill to voluntarily remain at home for about 7 days (household members may be provided with antiviral medications, if these medications are effective and sufficient in quantity and feasible mechanisms for their distribution have been developed).
  • Dismissing students from schools (including public and private schools as well as colleges and universities) and school-based activities and closure of childcare programs for up to 12 weeks, coupled with protecting children and teenagers through social distancing in the community, to include reductions of out-of-school social contacts and community mixing. Childcare programs discussed in this guidance include centers or facilities that provide care to any number of children in a nonresidential setting, large family childcare homes that provide care for seven or more children in the home of the provider, and small family childcare homes that provide care to six or fewer children in the home of the provider.
  • Recommending social distancing of adults in the community, which may include cancellation of large public gatherings; changing workplace environments and schedules to decrease social density and preserve a healthy workplace to the greatest extent possible without disrupting essential services; ensuring work-leave policies to align incentives and facilitate adherence with the measures outlined above. [Source: Swine Flu: How to Make Biz Continuity Plans, by Kevin Nixon]

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