Businesses began preparing for the bird flu outbreak - 6/20/2006
Companies are beginning to prepare for the projected bird flu pandemic, by setting aside entire buildings as "clean facilities" in which workers and families would remain during a bird flue outbreak. At least two financial institutions are setting up voluntary quarantines and two utilities are considering it, according to Gary Lynch, national practice leader for business continuity risk management at Marsh Inc. He said the companies plan to pay premiums and offer antiviral drugs to employees who take part.
DuPont Co. is considering giving employees kits with masks and disinfectant and is assessing ways to continue manufacturing with reduced staffing. Sun Microsystems Inc. plans to keep workers informed over its intranet radio station.
Ervin and Smith, a 40-person public-relations firm based in Omaha, Nebraska is arranging to have freelancers on call if staffers fall ill.
At Childs Capital, a New York-based investment firm has informed the staff they should work remotely if the flu
cripples public transportation to the company's Wall Street Office. The company would use a service that can open and scan the firm's mail so its bills could be paid online, as well as keeping extra cash around to handle things if bank shutdowns occur.
Textron Inc, a manufacturer at Providence, Rhode Island, plans on ensuring that company cafeterias are using disposable cups and utensils to avoid spreading the virus through poorly washed silverware. Their five executives would stop assembling in the same room and instead hold conference calls to run the business. They might mail questionnaires to their 37,000 employees to help them figure out if they are sick and infectious. Depending on the scale of the
pandemic, they are prepared to take workers temperatures at facility entrances and send people with fevers home. They also plan on staggering shifts and moving workstations further apart, out of sneezing and coughing range.
Even with attention to the preparations for the bird flu pandemic, Textron expects no
large company would emerge unscathed through a period in which absentee rates could reach 40 or 50 percent because of sickness, panic or crisis such as shutdown of schools. If an acute
pandemic is in the area, there will be times when you simply have no choice but to shut down your business.
Based on an article from...
Brian Bergstein, Associated Press, "Preparing for the worst", Lewiston Tribune, June 20, 2006, Business Profile Section page 6.
New tuberculosis strain discovered - 9/02/2006
The World Health Organization called for improved measures to treat and diagnose a new, deadly strain of tuberculosis. The strain was discovered in Kwazulu-Natal region of South Africa.
In the last year, 52 of 53 people have died after the infection, which is
classified as extremely drug-resistant. Two of six second-line medicines have been proven to be ineffective against the new strain. There are three classes of drugs that can still treat the most drug-resistant strains of TB, but those drugs are more expensive and are toxic to the human body.
Based on an article from...
Wire Service Reports "WHO: New tuberculosis strain found", Lewiston Tribune, Sept 2, 2006, page 2A
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