Swine flu has pretty much come and gone from the front pages of our newspapers and the breaking news headlines of our daily news broadcasts.  Thank goodness it wasn't as serious as most major news outlets were making it out to be.  But if there's one thing I took from following the news coverage it was how rapidly influenza can spread to become a global pandemic. 

What started with the World Health Organization monitoring several strange cases of influenza in Mexico as early as March 18, quickly became 854 cases of pneumonia in Mexico by April 23 with 7 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 in the United States by April 24.  By May 1, 11 countries were reporting 331 cases and as of today's date, 46 countries have reported 12, 515 cases.

Most companies I was in touch with throughout the recent scare didn't start implementing some of the basic steps of their pandemic plans until more than 7-10 days after the story of swine flu first hit north american headlines (WHO's first update was dated April 24).  Had this particular type of influenza been any more serious, this reaction would have been far too little too late.  Some companies I was in touch with didn't even have a pandemic plan.  Yikes!  Hopefully this close call made them realize that they need one.

Would all or most of your essential employees be able to carry on work from home should there be a global pandemic?

Alberta Workplace Health and Safety recently released a guideline with respect to Pandemic Planning.

All the more reason to manage your organization's systems - such as the OHS management system - electronically.