There is no certainty that a pandemic will occur, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly warned that the world should prepare itself for such an eventuality and that it may only be a matter of time before an avian flu acquires the ability to be transmitted from human to human. Since 2003, a total of 93 of the 173 people known to have been infected with the avian flu strain have died, according to the World Health Organization, resulting in a mortality rate of over 50% compared to 10% for SARS.Avian flu has been responsible for human deaths so far in China, Vietnam, Iraq, Turkey, Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia. The avian flu strain has been found in birds in at least 35 nations in Asia, Africa, and Europe.
"An avian flu pandemic could be exponentially tougher for businesses than SARS since it spreads through migratory bird populations and, in the worse-case scenario, could mutate into a strain that will allow for people to easily infect others," said Rosaline Chow Koo, head of Mercer´s Health and Benefits business for Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. "Once this happens, employee absenteeism will be a major problem with people staying home either because they´re sick, taking care of the sick, or reluctant to leave their homes for fear of becoming ill. This will create significant disruptions to essential services, so proactive planning will be critical not only by governments, but also by the business community to protect the health and well-being of employees."
"Business continuity planning for multinationals is particularly complex, but a flu pandemic will be challenging even for companies with a predominantly US-based workforce," said Jim Reynolds, MD, a principal in Mercer´s Health and Productivity Management business in Denver. "The threat of a pandemic demands that companies develop and implement proactive crisis leadership strategies. Put simply, since a pandemic could incapacitate any member of the management team, there must be a plan to identify a group of managers who can back up one another and who will be available to exercise leadership in different locations and at different times during a pandemic."
Mercer´s pandemic preparedness program addresses the key HR issues of crisis leadership, employee communications, skills inventory of critical business functions, and the review of HR policies such as employee insurance coverage, travel restrictions and evacuations, sick leave, working remotely, and preventive health measures. Mercer´s website, www.mercerhr.com/avianflu, serves as a valuable planning tool and information resource so that organizations become aware of the contingencies essential to protecting their employees´ health and to ensure critical business functions keep operating.
In advising employers about preparedness for a potential pandemic, Mercer and its MMC affiliates, Marsh and Kroll, are able to offer their lessons learned and combined expertise on business continuity planning, which clients have come to rely upon through a diverse range of global crises over recent years.
Visitors to the Mercer avian flu website, www.mercerhr.com/avianflu, are able to access the following planning tools
Download a Mercer white paper, "The Emerging Global Pandemic: Human Resource Implications."
Conduct Mercer´s online survey to determine their organization´s level of preparedness and planning priorities from an employee perspective.
Download papers on reviewing employee benefits and employee communications.
Access up-to-date news reports on avian flu and its consequences for humans.
Find useful information and links to other sites, including the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About Mercer Human Resource Consulting
Mercer Human Resource Consulting is a global leader for HR and related financial advice and services, with more than 15,000 employees serving clients in more than 190 cities and 41 countries and territories worldwide. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York, Chicago, Pacific, and London stock exchanges. For more information, visit mercerHR.com.