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International SOS Advises Companies to Activate Pandemic Preparedness Plans Amid H1N1 Flu Outbreak

International SOS, the world's leading provider of medical assistance and international healthcare, advises companies to activate their pandemic preparedness plans under the current influenza A/H1N1 (also known as Swine Origin Influenza Virus: S-OIV) outbreak due to the World Health Organization escalating to Phase 5 of its pandemic alert scale.

The alert elevation acknowledges efficient community-level human-to-human spread of the virus in at least two countries within a single WHO region. As the global leader of corporate pandemic planning, International SOS recommends that companies review their pandemic plans and implement them accordingly to sustain business continuity.

"It's never too late to implement your company's pandemic preparedness plan. For businesses, a pandemic preparedness plan is critical to minimising the human and economic loss and the risk of interruption to business," said Dr Robert Allen, Regional Medical Director, North Asia, International SOS. "During an influenza pandemic, good hygiene practices and other non-medical interventions will be the principal methods used to protect against, or at least delay infection. In the workforce, administrative managers should communicate clearly to employees on the effective measures of minimising the risk of disease transmission such as hand washing, avoiding unnecessary crowded spaces, cleaning and disinfection of potentially contaminated surfaces and objects."

To ensure employee health and maintain business continuity, International SOS advises companies to:

• Monitor the situation closely, as it is constantly changing.
• Keep up-to-date with recommendations from health experts, which may change in different phases of the pandemic.
• Ensure clear communication between staff, health practitioners, government and non-government organisations involved with policy and disease control.
• Take measures to reduce the chance of infection in employees and mission critical staff.
• Identify employees and their dependents who fall into the "high risk" group to ensure their health care is optimised.
• Identify if and when essential staff and dependents should be moved from their present location, and to where they should be relocated.

Since January 2004, International SOS has had a team of medical experts tracking the spread of common influenza, researching the developing body of knowledge, and developing pandemic plans to assist clients. Up to now, International SOS has assisted over 100 companies to develop their pandemic plans and there are over 350 companies subscribing to International SOS' "Pandemic Information Service".

International SOS' "Pandemic Information Service" is an online information source providing member companies with the most valuable and current pandemic situation updates on a daily basis. Apart from providing email updates, National Pandemic Plan Analysis and Webinars, members can also download the Pandemic Reference Guide, which is a detailed medical pandemic planning manual covering a wide range of areas such as infection control, antiviral medications, employee travel and communication.

In response to the H1N1 flu outbreak, International SOS has posted comprehensive information on H1N1 flu to its pandemic preparedness website, http://www.internationalsos.com/pandemicpreparedness/ to educate members of the public and the media. This website is continuously updated and provides updates on the situation, travel recommendations and answers to frequently asked questions.

About International SOS

Operating in over 70 countries, International SOS (http://www.internationalsos.com/) helps organizations manage the health and safety risks facing their travellers and global workforce. Its services range from consultancy and planning services to 24-hour medical and security advice and assistance. It also provides emergency medical and security evacuations when there is a critical illness, accident or civil unrest. In 2008, the company handled over 1,000,000 assistance cases, including nearly 18,000 evacuations. On average, International SOS handles 1 evacuation every 29 minutes and receives more than 4.25 million calls per year.

For more information, please contact:

Grace Ngoh, International SOS, Tel: (852) 2916 2695, Email: grace.ngoh@internationalsos.com