internationalsos.com - Press releases
International SOS provides health advice in response to new H7N9 Bird Flu outbreak in China09 April 2013Beijing
International SOS is providing medical advice and support to organisations, travellers and expatriates in response to the new bird flu virus (H7N9) outbreak in China. A team of physicians and pandemic experts at International SOS’ 27 Assistance Centres, led by its Beijing and Hong Kong facilities, is monitoring the situation 24/7 and updating its pandemic resources¹. At its clinics in Beijing, Nanjing, Tianjin and Shenzhen, International SOS is providing advice to members and reviewing pandemic preparedness plans. Since 31 March, International SOS has issued over 17 updates to its medical alerts. Its Pandemic Preparedness website and has seen a 30-fold increase in visits. In 2012, according to recent analysis² of over 4.6m travellers in its TravelTracker platform, China was the 5th most popular destination for business travellers with over 180,000 individual journeys. The threat of bird flu H5N1 has not diminished. In addition, another new threat, novel coronavirus, has emerged in the Middle East. If any of these three viruses were to become easily transmitted from one person to another they could cause a pandemic. Current Bird Flu (H7N9) Situation Since February 2013, more than twenty people in Shanghai and three surrounding provinces have been infected with the new H7N9 virus. Most have developed a very severe respiratory illness and so far at least seven have died. As yet it does not appear to spread easily between people. It is currently unclear how these people contracted the H7N9 virus, although it may have been through direct contact with infected birds. Unlike bird flu H5N1, birds with H7N9 may not become sick, making it harder to determine how widely the virus has spread. Antiviral medications Tamiflu and Relenza might be effective if given early in the illness. There is no vaccine available. Advice for Companies, Travellers and Expatriates At this time, International SOS advises that there is little risk to people residing in or travelling to China and no need to alter travel plans if appropriate precautions are taken. People travelling to or residing in China are advised to:
Comprehensive information on H7N9 and H5N1 bird flu and novel coronavirus can be found on the International SOS Pandemic Preparedness website. This website has different levels of information available to the general public, International SOS members and subscriber companies. Pandemic Webinar, Tuesday 9th April A webinar on the current Bird Flu Situation and what it means to companies is planned for Tuesday, April 9th at 4pm Beijing and Singapore/ 8am London / 9am Paris. This session is hosted by Dr. Craig Stark, Regional Medical Director, International SOS North Asia. To register, please email, china.comms@internationalsos.com . ### Ends ### 1] Since 2003, International SOS has been a global leader in pandemic planning and education to businesses worldwide. It has been active in helping its clients respond to SARS, H1N1 (bird flu), swine flu, novel coronavirus and H7N9 (bird flu) threats. Over 300 client organizations subscribe to its Pandemic Information Service. The company provides a pandemic e-learning course and has helped over 350 clients develop custom pandemic plans that are effective regardless of virus causing the pandemic. 2] Taken from a dataset of 4.6 million travellers going to international destinations in TravelTracker in 2009-2012. TravelTracker is used by over 700 of International SOS' multinational clients with each client typically having thousands of travelling employees. About International SOS International SOS (http://www.internationalsos.com/) is the world’s leading medical & travel security risk services company operating from over 700 sites in 76 countries with 10,000 employees, led by 1,200 physicians and 200 security specialists. Our global services include assessing medical and travel security risks, advising on preventative programmes with in-country expertise and assisting with emergency response for business travellers and global assignees. We serve multinational corporate clients, governments and NGOs and support them to achieve their Duty of Care responsibilities. For more information, contact: Christine Yang Rebecca Hackworth |
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