At companies in the North America, Europe and northern Asia, swine flu may be the last thing on the minds of those in charge of security, pandemic planning and disaster preparedness. After all, it's summer and flu season is still months away.
Google is to launch a local version of its Google Flu Trends application, which launched in the US last year.
The world went into panic mode over Swine Flu when it began spreading like wildfire early last month, first in Mexico, then the United States and beyond. Then it became evident that most cases were mild -- no worse than garden-variety seasonal flu. People moved on in search of something else to worry about.
Despite recent power blackouts in Sydney and the threat of a swine flu pandemic, many Australian organisations are still “flying by the seat of their pants” claim experts
As the swine flu outbreak spreads, CIOs and other IT executives are dusting off their pandemic plans and preparing for the possibility of high levels of employee absenteeism and extended telework scenarios.
Australian health authorities may have given the all clear for two local suspected cases of the [[artnid:300804|swine flu virus|new]] -- which has killed more than 80 people in Mexico and infected 20 in the United States -- but concern over the spread of the potentially fatal disease has local CIOs revisiting their business continuity plans (BCP).
With the possibility of a swine flu pandemic in mind, CIO has put this collection of preparedness articles together to help companies review their own plans.
What you can do to prepare.
A global virus affecting more than a quarter of the world's population is an unpalatable, but increasingly likely prospect. The impact on human life could be catastrophic, but the potential economic impact to organizations across the world also cannot be ignored.