Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
Bird flu fears spur firms to prepare for disruptions
BY BRIAN BERGSTEIN AP BUSINESS WRITER
The bird flu has yet to develop the ability to jump from human to human and become a pandemic, but many businesses are not waiting to find out if it will.
Some companies are going so far as to set entire buildings aside as "clean facilities" in which workers and families would remain during a bird flu outbreak. At least two financial institutions are setting up such 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.
Most companies' steps are less extreme, such as making sure that key employees can work from home. But companies large and small are advised to have plans for the enormous work force disruptions that bird flu might bring.
continued..
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060610/BUSINESS/606100474/-1/RSS05
BY BRIAN BERGSTEIN AP BUSINESS WRITER
The bird flu has yet to develop the ability to jump from human to human and become a pandemic, but many businesses are not waiting to find out if it will.
Some companies are going so far as to set entire buildings aside as "clean facilities" in which workers and families would remain during a bird flu outbreak. At least two financial institutions are setting up such 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.
Most companies' steps are less extreme, such as making sure that key employees can work from home. But companies large and small are advised to have plans for the enormous work force disruptions that bird flu might bring.
continued..
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060610/BUSINESS/606100474/-1/RSS05