Will your company survive an Avian flu pandemic (or even a significant epidemic)? Many countries were relatively unaffected by the SARS epidemic and so have not seen first hand the high levels of business disruption caused by such a crisis. However, we need to realize that we are part of a global community and face a very real risk of suffering as a result of a major pandemic or epidemic.

The business impact may be felt in a variety of ways:

• People will be seeking information – communication systems may fail;

• Key personnel may be unavailable for lengthy periods (permanently in a worst case scenario) – apart from those falling to the disease, many people may choose to stay at home rather than risk exposure;

• Offices may be voluntarily closed;

• Offices may be closed by health authorities;

• Transport systems may be disrupted;

• Movement of people may be restricted;

• Suppliers may be forced to close;

• Customer base may decline as client organizations are forced to close, or people avoid populated environments such as shopping centers

• Panic-based evacuations may be attempted;

• Law and order may suffer;

• Litigation may result from claims centered around air conditioning, duty of care, etc;

• Authorities may not be able to cope if numbers of sick and dying exceed expectations (who would have believed the chaos of New Orleans ?).

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