The increase in commercial aviation and international travel means that pandemics now spread faster than ever before. Seasonal flu pandemics, zoonotic contagions such as Ebola, swine flu and avian flu, and respiratory syndromes such as SARS and MERS have affected millions worldwide. Add the ever-present threat of terrorism and biological warfare, and the possibility of large proportions of your workforce being incapacitated is a lot stronger than you might think. How would your business fare if 50% or more of your employees, including those you rely on to execute your business continuity plan, were afflicted by illness – or worse? Although nothing can be done to prevent pandemics, their impact can be significantly mitigated. Business Continuity and the Pandemic Threat explains how. Part I: Understanding the Threat provides the reader with a detailed overview of the challenge that pandemic threats can present. It uses historical examples to illustrate how pandemics can have devastating effects not only on the global population but also on critical infrastructure, the global economy, and society. Part II: Preparing for the Inevitable considers the actions that can be taken at a global, national, corporate and individual level to mitigate the risk and limit the damage of pandemic incidents. It provides guidance on creating and validating a pandemic plan and explains how it integrates with a business continuity plan. Comprehensive case studies are provided throughout. Topics covered include: The World Health Organisation (WHO)’s pandemic phases and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC)’s Pandemic Severity Index Preventive control measures Crisis management and the composition of a crisis management team Dealing with cash-flow, staff absenteeism, home working and supply chain management Communications and media plans Pandemic issues for HR The threat to critical national infrastructure Health service contingency plans and First Responders' business continuity plans The provision of vaccines and antiviral medicines – including relevant ethical issues  

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Preface
• About The Author
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Part I: Understanding the Threat
  • Chapter 1: Introduction
  • Chapter 2: Anatomy of a Pandemic
    • 2.1 Microorganisms
    • 2.2 Seasonal influenza
    • 2.3 What is a pandemic?
    • 2.4 Historical pandemic overview
    • 2.5 Characteristics of a pandemic
    • 2.6 Epidemics, seasonal influenza and pandemics
    • 2.7 Pandemics and non-influenza related contagions
    • 2.8 Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
    • 2.9 Comparison with other natural disasters
    • 2.10 Biological warfare and terrorism
  • Chapter 3: SARS – Case Study
    • 3.1 The epidemiology of SARS
    • 3.2 The attempted Chinese cover up
    • 3.3 SARS breaks out of China
    • 3.4 SARS and the consequences for Hong Kong
    • 3.5 Tourism in South East Asia
    • 3.6 Carrying the fight to SARS
    • 3.7 Is MERS the new SARS?
    • 3.8 A second SARS-like crisis?
    • 3.9 Lessons to learn from SARS
  • Chapter 4: Spanish Influenza 1918–19 Overview
  • Chapter 5: Are the Spanish Flu and SARS Comparable?
    • 5.1 Transport considerations
    • 5.2 Economic parallels
    • 5.3 Media implications
• Part II: Preparing for the Inevitable
  • Chapter 6: That Was Then…………
    • 6.1 Global preparedness and response
    • 6.2 National preparedness and response
    • 6.3 Organisation preparedness and response
    • 6.4 Individual preparedness and response
  • Chapter 7: Critical National Infrastructures
    • 7.1 UK capabilities programme
    • 7.2 Preparedness
    • 7.3 Plan trigger points
    • 7.4 Crisis management
    • 7.5 Preventative control measures
  • Chapter 8: Health Services Contingency Plans
    • 8.1 Approach to pandemic contingency
    • 8.2 Plan trigger points
    • 8.3 Vulnerable groups
    • 8.4 Vaccines and antiviral medicines
    • 8.5 Ethical issues
    • 8.6 Port Health Authorities
  • Chapter 9: Pandemic Plan Considerations
    • 9.1 Pandemic plan template
    • 9.2 Links with your business continuity plan
    • 9.3 Pandemic – a multi-faceted threat
    • 9.4 Will one size fit all?
    • 9.5 Working from home
    • 9.6 Supply chain management
    • 9.7 Crisis management roles and responsibilities
    • 9.8 Communications and media plans
    • 9.9 Pandemic issues for human resources
    • 9.10 Plan structure
    • 9.11 Case study – Already in the groove
  • Chapter 10: Creating a Healthier Environment
    • 10.1 Employees’ health and safety
    • 10.2 Adopting healthy habits to improve personal hygiene
    • 10.3 Corporate cleanliness
    • 10.4 Cleanliness in the community
    • 10.5 Case study – Dealing with norovirus
    • 10.6 Case study – Avoiding fresher’s flu
  • Chapter 11: Validating Your Pandemic Plan
    • 11.1 Overview
    • 11.2 Discussion based exercises
    • 11.3 Desktop exercises
    • 11.4 Command post exercises
    • 11.5 Performing a live rehearsal of your plan
    • 11.6 Using random selection to identify infected staff
    • 11.7 Post exercise reviews
    • 11.8 Maintaining your plan
    • 11.9 Case study
  • Chapter 12: Conclusion
  • Chapter 13: Additional Reference Material
    • 13.1 Recommended books
    • 13.2 Suggested videos
    • 13.3 Useful websites
  • Chapter 14: Works Cited
  • Chapter 15: Glossary of Terms
  • Chapter 16: Free Template Downloads
    • 16.1 Pandemic plan template
    • 16.2 Crisis management
• ITG Resources