22 October 2006
Risk Communication as a Pandemic Flu Countermeasure for the Business Community: More is Better
Discussion of pandemic human influenza, possibly deriving in the future from the ongoing H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks, typically focuses on public health implications for the general population. However, an often forgotten side of pandemic influenza is the impact on corporations. Disruption due to employee illness, travel limitations and infection would lead businesses to incur loss during an infectious outbreak.
The
Department of Health and Human Resources and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention have provided a Business
Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist (http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/businesschecklist.html)
for corporations in anticipation of a future pandemic human flu virus appearing
in the United States. Regarding risk
communication, the agencies suggest several precautionary measures. Companies
should develop and distribute educational materials explaining influenza basics
such as symptoms and modes of transmission. Communication planning should
anticipate employee anxiety and the inevitable generation of rumors and
misinformation.
Furthermore,
communication strategies should consider potential cultural differences and linguistic
barriers. Employees must also receive information about company pandemic
preparedness and response plans to ensure awareness of procedures in the event
of an outbreak. Companies should also provide employees with household
preparedness information, should family members become ill. The agencies also
recommend that companies develop a consistent, timely way of communicating
status and actions to employees, vendors, suppliers and customers. Companies
should identify community resources for employees to utilize if countermeasures
such as vaccines and containment are sought.
Because a business
would likely incur loss during an infectious disease outbreak, and because such
an outbreak is an unusual event, insurance claim disputes are another seldom-examined
issue worthy of exploration. The risk and insurance services firm Marsh
discussed avian flu and the possibility of preparing for a pandemic in a
January 2006 report for clients and colleagues (http://www.marsh.com).
As the report notes,
commercial general liability policies usually cover injury, sickness, and
death. The link between infections or an exposure to the insured will likely
receive close scrutiny by an insurer, who will often claim a policy is
applicable to only actual injuries. Insurance companies frequently reject
claims based on fear of exposure and asymptomatic exposure, although standards
vary with individual policies.
Property insurance
policies could also become problematic during a pandemic. Real property could
become contaminated with influenza virus, workplaces could close, and the
government could potentially impose quarantine. For a successful claim, insured
property typically must incur physical loss or damage from an event against
which the company is already insured. Therefore, unless the insured has a
policy specifically covering infectious disease outbreaks, compensation is
unlikely. A claim that people avoided the property due to threat of the virus
could potentially meet the counterargument that no physical damage occurred.
Furthermore, in the case of quarantine or government shutdown of property,
insurers could also claim that the physical presence of the virus itself fails
to generate quantitative damage.
Several widely
recognized corporations, including Intel Corp. and Boeing, are taking proactive
stances against pandemic influenza (http://www.workforce.com/section/02/feature/24/23/31/). Intel Corp., the leading producer of
microchips, computing and communications products, for instance, has a vested
interest in preparedness efforts due to previous experience with SARS, as the
company has global offices and manufacturing plants in China and Malaysia,
countries that experienced pandemic avian influenza. Intel’s efforts include steps such as distributing educational materials
in the company newsletter, enforcing basic disease containment precautions,
bolstering capabilities for employees to work from home and utilizing
teleconferencing capabilities globally.
The company has also prepared risk mitigation strategies such as
relocating some manufacturing facilities to additional functional and conducive
areas.
Boeing, the world’s
largest aerospace company, has similarly begun examining business continuity
issues and worker protection plans in hopes of minimizing operational
disruptions. The corporation has also
conducted a critical assessment of employees required to conduct core
activities. Such studies facilitate the development of realistic contingency
plans.
Although
recommendations exist and several leading corporations have established
precautionary strategies, in the event of a pandemic influenza outbreak, many
employers within the corporate arena are unprepared. This fact is most clearly
illustrated by insufficient, or even non-existent, business continuity plans.
Jessica Arabski, Jennifer Harris, Kristina Meko, Tyler
Merkeley, Danielle Meyer, Bill Petoskey, and Christina Sanders.
Graduate students,
Georgetown University Master of Science (M.S.) Program in Biohazardous Threat
Agents and Emerging Infectious Diseases. Biodefense Public Health
Countermeasures MICB-523.Washington, DC.
Daniel R. Lucey, MD,
MPH. MICB-523 Course Instructor.
Director, Center for Biologic Counterterrorism and Emerging Disease. Washington
Hospital Center EROne Institutes. Department of Emergency Medicine. Washington, DC.
Posted on: www.BePast.org E-mail: Daniel.R.Lucey@Medstar.net