Business Preparedness

Evidence plentiful of a pending pandemic

Webster RG, Govorkova EA. H5N1 influenza--continuing evolution and spread. (Perspective) N Engl J Med 2006 Nov 23;355(21):2174-7 [Full text]

Natasha Rotstein

How's Your Business Discontinuity Program?

More and more companies are starting to integrate pandemic preparedness into their business continuity programs. That's good news--and helping to facilitate it is one of the reasons this newsletter was launched.

Peter M. Sandman

OSHA updates guidance on avian flu

(CIDRAP News) The US Department of Labor yesterday released revised Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance to help employers protect their workers from job-related exposure to H5N1 avian influenza.

Most Americans willing to lie low in pandemic

(CIDRAP News) Americans are overwhelmingly willing to cut back their activities to help cope with an influenza pandemic, but many worry that they would have money problems if they had to miss as few as 7 days of work, according to a survey from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

Injectable drug seen as potential treatment for flu, both seasonal and avian

(CIDRAP News) Recent tests suggest that an antiviral drug given by intravenous (IV) or intramuscular (IM) injection could eventually serve as another weapon against influenza, according to results presented at a conference last week.

Robert Roos

FDA issues guide to ease production of cell-based vaccines

(CIDRAP News) In a major push to modernize and speed the production of vaccines for pandemic influenza and other emerging threats, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week issued new guidance on how to safely and effectively develop new cell-based vaccines.

APHA projects big decline in public health workforce

Sept 1, 2006 (CIDRAP News) The nation's largest public health organization sounded an alarm this week about the public health workforce, citing a current shortage and projecting that the profession could lose up to half of its workers over the next few years.

Experts critique state pandemic plans

(CIDRAP News) Now that most states have issued preliminary or final plans for dealing with pandemic influenza, a group of experts who looked at the public health strategies in the plans has given them a mixed review.

Professional groups call on White House to elevate role of pandemic flu vaccines

(CIDRAP News) – Two national groups of infectious disease experts urged the White House to make the development of vaccines the most important element in the nation's pandemic influenza plan.

Governors group issues pandemic planning guide for states

(CIDRAP News) The role of state officials in an influenza pandemic has been hazy, but the focus became clearer yesterday when the National Governors Association (NGA) released a guide that spells out key planning issues for top state officials.