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Region's firms unprepared for bird flu
Apr 12 2006
By Alison Dayani, Birmingham Mail
BUSINESSES in the Midlands are the worst prepared in the country for a bird flu pandemic, a report revealed today.
A shocking 94 per cent of companies in the region do not have specific contingency plans in place to deal with the threat, according to new research.
The report was unveiled as tests were being carried out on a duck found dead near Edgbaston Reservoir on Friday, to see if it had avian flu.
So far only one reported case of a bird with the potentially deadly H5N1 strain has been confirmed in Britain and that was in Scotland.
Managing directors, financial directors and other senior managers of private companies with an annual turnover of at least £1 million were quizzed over how they would cope if bird flu or pandemic flu affected their workforce or production.
But nearly all of those questioned, from manufacturers to food suppliers and distribution companies, said they were unprepared and would not know what to do.
"Avian Flu has been found in Scotland and it is a serious reminder that the threat is real," said Claire Cater, from Bell Pottinger Group, who commissioned the research and provides advice to companies. "While there is a risk of Avian Flu being a real risk to human health, it is also a serious risk to business continuity.
"At this stage no one knows what proportion of the UK workforce will be affected but estimates range from 20 to 60 per cent. The implications are serious, yet the research shows it is a threat which has to date been largely ignored."
Businesses in the Midlands emerged with the worst state of readiness with 94 per cent having no continuity plan. It was 70 per cent in the south and 84 per cent in the north.
