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3 Key Risk Management Responses to the Coronavirus

The novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV continues to spread throughout China and other countries, seriously impacting business operations around the world. As governments and companies act to protect their citizens, operations and employees at home and abroad, these actions threaten to produce business interruptions, travel risks and other effects that could be detrimental to business continuity.

On January 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a global emergency, meaning that it is a threat beyond China, after more cases have appeared in other countries around the world.

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According to the New York Times, the WHO has only made such a declaration five times since 2005. The virus has killed more than 400 people (including 2 outside mainland China) and has infected more than 20,000 in more than 25 countries.

In addition to the cancellation of major public events in China (including celebrations of Chinese New Year), many international businesses have curtailed their operations there since the outbreak. According to Bloomberg, this includes Starbucks (which closed more than half of its shops), Toyota (which stopped production), McDonald’s and KFC (which both closed restaurants), and Disney (which closed its resort in Shanghai), among others.

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Some international companies have instructed their employees to work from home to limit exposure as the virus spreads, and Amazon, Microsoft and other tech companies also limited employee travel to and from China.

China has maintained mass quarantines of areas with high number of infections, including Wuhan, the origin of the outbreak, and some other countries are also taking extraordinary steps to limit the virus’s spread. Last week, Russia sealed its entire border with China and cancelled all trains between the countries except for a single train line between Moscow and Beijing. Japan is currently quarantining more than 3,000 people on a ship after a passenger tested positive after departing the ship, while the United Kingdom has advised its citizens to leave China. And the United States issued a proclamation suspending entry for non-citizens who spent 14 or more days in China before attempting to enter the United States.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) stated that the risk for people in the United States is “considered low at this time,” with elevated risk for individuals who may have increased exposure—such as healthcare workers and others in close contact with patients with the virus. However, companies should still act to protect their operations and employees, especially if operations require international travel and if supply chains depend on Chinese business continuity. Here are three approaches to limit risk from the coronavirus:

1. Take Travel Precautions

The CDC has recommended avoiding all non-essential travel to China, and the U.S. State Department has asked people not to travel to China. If travel is essential, the CDC suggests avoiding contact with sick people, any animals, animal markets or products made from animals. If traveling employees are older, they should take extra precautions, since, “older adults and people with underlying health conditions may be at increased risk.”

2. Develop a Response Plan

Medical and travel security services firm International SOS also recommended that businesses have regularly-updated and evaluated business continuity plans in place to ensure smooth response to incidents like disease outbreaks. The Institute of Risk Management South Africa (IRMSA) recommended preparing a specifically-focused “Pandemic Preparedness Plan” or updating previously prepared plans to reflect current circumstances to ensure business continuity.

IRMSA also suggested creating a group within the company, chaired by a senior staff member, able to make quick executive decisions for the organization in response to any coronavirus-related impact to the business and prepare decision-making processes for future incidents.

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3. Consult Reputable Information Sources

Relying solely on reputable news sources, like government disease control agencies and reliable media, can help when evaluating and taking courses of action to reduce risk. Conspiracy theories about the coronavirus have spread rapidly, including misinformation about its source, how to protect against or treat infections, and the number of people affected. Misinformation has also resulted in discrimination against Chinese-linked businesses and people of Chinese heritage, as well as East Asian people in general. Disseminating clear, reputable information to all employees, especially those traveling, can reduce risk of infection and impact on business operations.

2018-19 Holiday Season Flu Warning

While the forecast for the 2018-19 flu season is not as severe as years past, manufacturers projected they would provide between 163 million and 168 million doses of injectable vaccine for the U.

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S. market. Companies are encouraged to maintain efforts to prevent the spread of the flu in the workplace.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently provided updates regarding the 2018-19 influenza season and you can access the outlook report here. Some new information includes:

  • Flu vaccines have been updated to better match circulating viruses [the B/Victoria component was changed and the influenza A(H3N2) component was updated].
  • The age recommendation for Afluria Quadrivalent was changed from 18 years and older to 5 years and older after the annual recommendations were published last season to be consistent with Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved labeling.
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  • Most regular-dose egg-based flu shots will be quadrivalent [they will have four components].
  • The nasal spray flu vaccine (live attenuated influenza vaccine or “LAIV”) is again a recommended option for influenza vaccination of persons for whom it is otherwise appropriate, including for use in non-pregnant individuals, 2 to 49 years old.

For 2018-2019, trivalent (three-component) vaccines are recommended to contain:

  • A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus
  • A/Singapore/INFIMH-16-0019/2016 A(H3N2)-like virus (updated)
  • B/Colorado/06/2017-like (Victoria lineage) virus (updated)

Quadrivalent (four-component) vaccines, which protect against a second lineage of B viruses, are recommended to contain:

  • The three recommended viruses above, plus B/Phuket/3073/2013-like (Yamagata lineage) virus

Though the CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October, “getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout the flu season, even into January or later.” Check out the agency’s FluView site for more national trends and other information.

AlertFind recently released a “Deadliest Pandemics of This Century” infographic, calling out the severity of the 2017-18 influenza season, which caused 80,000 deaths and 900,000 hospitalizations. It also provides tips employers can use to prevent the spread of disease.

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200 New ‘Nightmarish’ Reasons to Wash Your Hands

New nationwide testing in 2017 uncovered 221 instances of unusual resistance genes in what is known as “nightmare bacteria,” according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) monthly Vital Signs report, released last week. Germs with unusual antibiotic resistance (AR) include those that cannot be killed by all or most antibiotics, are uncommon in a geographic area or the U.S., or have specific genes that allow them to spread their resistance to other germs.

Examples of AR germs include: Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), Candida auris, and certain types of nightmare bacteria such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE).

“CDC’s study found several dangerous pathogens, hiding in plain sight, that can cause infections that are difficult or impossible to treat,” said CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, M.D.

With spring break in full effect and peak travel season on the horizon, the timing of this new information should be noted by businesses and the public, since AR has been found in every state and can spread between facilities and even people without symptoms of infection.

The CDC warned that germs “will continuously find ways to resist new and existing antibiotics” and that it is currently impossible to stop new resistances from developing. Recent nationwide infrastructure investments in laboratories, infection control, and response are enabling aggressive investigations to keep resistance from spreading in health care settings.

According to the CDC, a hard-to-treat germ that spreads easily was found in 11% of screening tests among subjects who displayed no symptoms. The nightmare germs sicken 2 million Americans and kill 23,000 every year. Additional study findings showed that:

  • One-in-four germ samples sent to the AR Lab Network for testing had special genes that allow them to spread their resistance to other germs.
  • Further investigation in facilities with unusual resistance revealed that about one in 10 screening tests, from patients without symptoms, identified a hard-to-treat germ that spreads easily. This means the germ could have spread undetected in that health care facility.
  • For CRE alone, estimates show that the containment strategy would prevent as many as 1,600 new infections in three years in a single state—a 76% reduction.

The CDC’s rapid response Containment Strategy is launched at the first sign of unusual resistance. Recent cases were found and isolated in Tennessee, after a patient received health care outside the U.S.; and in Iowa, when a nursing home patient was diagnosed with an AR germ that spread to five other people. Follow-up assessments revealed the outbreak had been contained.

To mitigate the risk of contracting these germs, employees should:

  • Inform your healthcare provider if you recently received health care in another country or facility.
  • Talk to your healthcare provider about preventing infections, taking good care of chronic conditions and getting recommended vaccines.

CDC recommends practicing good hygiene, such as keeping hands clean with hand washing or alcohol-based hand rubs, and keeping cuts clean until healed.

2016 Drug Overdose Death Rate 3-Times Higher than in 1999

Deaths from drug overdose have reached crisis proportions in the United States, with more than 63,600 deaths in 2016—more than three times that of 1999. The majority were males, whose deaths increased from 8.2 in 1999 to 26.2 in 2016; compared to females, whose rate rose from 3.9 in 1999 to 13.4 in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Authors of the report noted, “The pattern of drugs involved in drug overdose deaths has changed in recent years. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (drugs such as fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol) doubled in a single year from 3.1 per 100,000 in 2015 to 6.2 in 2016. Additionally, it’s important to note that many drug overdose deaths may involve multiple drugs.”
Of people age 15 and above:

• Rates of drug overdose deaths increased from 1999 to 2016 for all groups studied.

• Rates in 2016 were highest for people between the ages of 25 and 54.

• From 2015 to 2016, the drug overdose death rates for adults age 45-54, 55-64 and 65 and above went up 15%, 17% and 7% respectively, the CDC said.
In 2016, 22 states and the District of Columbia had overdose death rates that were statistically higher than the national rate. States with the highest number of overdose deaths were: West Virginia, with 52 per 100,000; Ohio with 39.1; New Hampshire with 39; District of Columbia with 38.8; and Pennsylvania, which had 37.9 deaths per 100,000.

States with the lowest age-adjusted drug overdose rates were: Iowa, which had 10.6 deaths; North Dakota, 10.6; Texas, 10; South Dakota, 8.4; and Nebraska, which had 6.4 deaths.
In it’s most recent study, Quest Diagnostics found that workforce use of illicit drugs across the board—including cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine—has climbed to the highest rate in 12 years.

Overall positivity in urine drug testing among the combined U.S. workforce in 2016 was 4.2%, a 5% relative increase over last year’s rate of 4%—the highest annual positivity rate since 2004 (4.5%), according to an analysis of more than 10 million workforce drug test results.