Are We Missing the Point of Pandemic Planning?

Learn a greater understanding of the issues that private and public sector planners will have to face if a pandemic occurs.

A dirty bomb does not have to be manmade. Nature provides us with many potential dirty bombs, these may come in the form of readily recognized natural disasters such as, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes; or as a pandemic. Are you prepared to understand the ramifications of one of nature's dirty bombs? Should we sound the alarm for a worldwide epidemic that might not occur? There is no choice with the Ebola emerging from Africa. Should it adapt to be able to be transmitted from human to human, international health experts warn, Ebola, like Bird flu could spark a global pandemic. There are three elements to a pandemic. First, a virus emerges from the pool of animal life that has never infected human beings, meaning no person has antibodies to fight it. Second, the virus has to make us seriously ill. Third, the virus must be capable of moving swiftly from human to human through coughing, sneezing or just a handshake. For Ebola, the first two elements are already with us. Well over 90% the people who have contracted it have died. The question now is whether the virus will meet the third condition: mutating so that it can spread rapidly from human to human. Each entity (government and business) view risks, threats, hazards, vulnerabilities and their consequences differently. The expansion of terrorism to U.S. soil has caused the perception gap to grow, not to shrink. Solutions and strategies will be discussed that will provide insight for government and business leaders and responders when interfacing with each other prior to, during and after an event.

Faculty

Geary W. Sikich

Logical Management Systems Corp.