Saturday, May 2, 2009

Swine Flu Outbreak Finally Gets Businesses to Start Preparing But is it Already Too Late?

The Swine Flu pandemic outbreak is here to stay.

It's time to finally stand up and take notice. If you have not already started your preparations and planning, then (apart from shame on you) it's time you did something about it.

The question is of course, "What do you need to you do"?

Swine flu is an influenza type no different to bird flu or human flu, except that it occurs in pigs instead of humans or birds. Scientists have always said that the global pandemics we have experienced throughout history (at the rate of about three a century) are the result of the animal virus jumping from one species to another and combining to form a lethal form of influenza which is also infectious.

As the human body is more similar to a pig's body than a bird, the path of least resistance for the virus is between pigs and humans. When a bird influenza strain makes the jump to pigs, it is possible for it to combine with the pig form of the virus which can easily jump to humans, and then subsequently between humans.

This is what appears to have happened. The DNA of the Swine Flu outbreak virus contains bird flu and human flu.

Regardless of which mammal this pandemic strain has come from we all must now start getting our businesses prepared.

Fortunately there is a lot of information available on the internet on Bird Flu which can also be used for Swine Flu, to help get planning underway. This includes a lot of housekeeping (both for businesses and homes) as well as stockpiling things like face masks and hand antiseptics. With the latter you'll have to be quick though as we have already seen skyrocketing sales of all of these items. As for the former there's also plenty to get on with.

The problem with the information available there's a lot of rough to go through to find the diamonds. The diamonds being the tidbits of useful practical information, ideas you can use to actually do something, rather than theory and education.

For example, what should you do when sickness is discovered in the workplace and your staff evacuate their workstations and offices in fear of being the next victim. This will happen, even if the 'sick' person doesn't actually have the disease. How do you get the clean up done and get everyone back to their stations quickly and efficiently?

If you want your staff to come to work when the pandemic has really taken hold on us you're going to have to convince them that the office is the safest place to be outside of the home. They have to know you have plans in place and that you know what you're doing when it comes to protecting their safety.

This means you need to have a sterilized office environment where illness is checked at the door. You would need compulsory temperature checks for staff and visitors at every entrance, sterilization mats, face masks to hand out and hand sanitization outlets. Delivery staff can drop off outside, and packages disinfected before being brought in.

Keep meetings to an absolute minimum, but if they are unavoidable maintain a distance of at least one meter between attendees, and more if you can.

You can save yourself a lot of effort, and more importantly time, by going straight to where the 'diamonds in the rough' are. Whether the pandemic came from birds or swines you'll find all the answers you need to get your pandemic preparedness completed and your pandemic stockpiling bought and delivered at Bird Flu Manual Online.

Interesting link:
N95 Respirator/Flu Mask
Swine Flu Protection Store

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