labor lawAdivision of labor law center

If you haven’t heard already, then you need to know about a recent Wyoming worker safety alert that deals with what to do in preparation for a potential influenza pandemic.

Employers should include a plan that deals with what to do during a worldwide influenza pandemic. The plan should tell workers the best precautions to take during a pandemic, as well as actions each business plans to do to minimize the spread of disease.

This is very important because according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a pandemic could disrupt the global economy in ways never imagined. In fact, a pandemic could have a greater impact than a single terrorist attack.

An influenza pandemic is much different from the common seasonal flu so many experience during the fall and winter months. This type of flu is not a major threat because most healthy people have developed the antibodies to fight it. Only the elderly, those with compromised immune systems like HIV, and children are at risk of dying from a common seasonal flu.

A pandemic occurs when a new strain of the virus appears. Since no one has had a chance to develop antibodies, many people end up dying. This is what happened from 1918 to 1920 where more than 50 million people died within 18 months during the Spanish Flu.

The Spanish Flu, named so because of the exposure it received in Spanish newspapers, first appeared at a military base in Kansas and spread globally from there. Wartime newspaper censorship prevented most newspapers, except the Spanish newspapers, from publishing many stories about the flu. Reports stated that even healthy young adults died within days of getting the virus.

While it’s important to note that there’s no new strain of the influenza virus or risk of a pandemic, it’s equally important to know the best precautions to protect yourself from getting sick. These precautions work well for the seasonal flu too.

• Use disposable tissues.
• Wash your hands.
• Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
• If you’re sick, stay home.
• Stay at least 6 feet away from sick people

 

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