Planning Key to Surviving Avian Flu, Penn State Professor Says

Planning at all levels of a community is going to be critical to surviving an avian flu pandemic, according to Dr. Francis Achampong, chief academic officer of Penn State University’s Mont Alto campus near Gettysburg, Pa. Achampong recently authored an article on the pandemic for the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriting Society’s CPCU eJournal titled “Preparing for the Pandemic Flu from a Risk Management Perspective,” in which he examined the key components of planning for a flu pandemic.

“Widespread illness and deaths resulting from a pandemic can have significant and potentially devastating financial consequences for businesses, educational institutions and other organizations, as a result of the toll on human resources and the resultant disruptions in operations. …” he wrote. ” … Planning by individuals, familise, communities, organizations and governmental authorities is going to be critical.”

Achampong based his article on the fear that the avian flu strain H5N1 could mutate and spread among humans in the air. “In the United States alone, it is estimated that 200,000 to 2 million people could die from the pandemic flu. Depending on the severity of a pandemic, it is projected that infections could range from 75 million to 90 million people,” he wrote.

The CPCU eJournal is a monthly electronic publication available to CPCU Society members. For more information, visit www.cpcusociety.org.

Source: CPCU