Ebola outbreak: How prepared is your company for a pandemic?

The recent outbreak of Ebola in west Africa should act as a timely reminder for companies to ensure they have pandemic strategies in place as part of their business continuity management plans.

"Companies need to look at the current Ebola outbreak and what risks it poses to them and their employees, and put protocols in place now," says Tracey Linnell, General Manager: Advisory Services at ContinuitySA. "At the same time, they should make sure their overall approach to pandemics is in place."

The current Ebola outbreak began in Guinea in February this year, and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. It has yet to spread outside the west African region, but an ominous development is the first case of "imported" Ebola has been reported in Nigeria. A Liberian national on a flight from that country to Lagos fell ill on the flight, was admitted to hospital upon landing. He died five days later. Tests to confirm the diagnosis of Ebola are pending. Nigeria is one of the continent's powerhouses with strong business and other links to South Africa, among others, so if it has arrived there then the chances of it spreading beyond west Africa seem a little stronger.

Linnell says that companies whose people travel into the region or that have business relationships with it need to be sure they are educating staff about symptoms and are monitoring the health of at-risk employees. They also need to have a plan for getting employees out of countries they might be visiting if borders are closed. Already, for example, some airlines have stopped flying to Liberia.

"The possible impact on employees is inevitably the first thing people think about but businesses also need to pay strict attention to their supply chain dependencies," says Linnell. "What would the impact on business operations and the wider supply chain be if borders were to be closed owing to a pandemic? Remember, the direct effect could be on a business partner, but if they are vital to your operations, the knock-on effects are likely to be severe. You need to understand exactly what the risks are, and have mitigation strategies in place."

Linnell says that companies that documented pandemic strategies for the SARS scare in 2003 could use them as the basis for an Ebola strategy. Companies need to have a comprehensive strategy in place for educating staff about the risks posed by Ebola, and inform them about the emergency procedures put in place should they show any symptoms.

Companies should also be monitoring the Web site of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (www.nicd.ac.za), which provides comprehensive and regularly updated information about current outbreaks and associated risks.

"Companies that haven't implemented a business continuity management plan should consider doing so as a matter of urgency," concludes Linnell. "This means that they will have an integrated response and mitigation strategy to this and other risks in place."