The headline reads: “Flu fears ease, but next wave looms”. In past pandemics that turned deadly, like 1918’s Spanish flu, a relatively mild spring outbreak preceded a period of greater virulence and fatality the following autumn and winter. MSNBC notes: “[The] big fear is that the current swine flu virus could die down now in the north, but mutate during the ensuing months to become more transmissible and more virulent, fueling a serious outbreak when flu season resumes in that hemisphere.”
The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control notes that this period of time, “between now and fall, is critically important to individual preparedness, the community preparedness and how the impact of this could be on our communities.” As the southern hemisphere enters fall and winter, the collision of seasonal flu and swine flu will illustrate our fall’s potential for serious outbreaks and further virus mutation in the northern hemisphere. Flu conditions in Africa, Australia and Oceania, southern Asia and South America will also have immediate impact on global business.
Information drives both individual preparedness and community preparedness; continuing to monitor this literally evolving challenge is key to maintaining the security of our people and the continuity of our business. FluTracker, powered by Rhiza Insight, has made it easy for researchers and volunteers to enter confirmed and suspected cases of swine flu into a comprehensive system for analysis and tracking. The result is that FluTracker is acknowledged as the most complete and up-to-date resource for tracking swine flu on the Web.
Human resources professionals, corporate security officers, and public policy managers are all using FluTracker to address a critical and evolving challenge. Fortune 500 companies, major telecommunications and news outlets, and government agencies in the United States and Canada turn to FluTracker to prepare, plan, and protect their assets and constituents.