Isle of Man- Swine Flu And Your Business Seminar

Living on an island which is perceived by many as being somewhat identical to Alcatraz has it's ups and downs. One of the obvious benefits of the Isle of Man is it's well known status Internationally primarily in the Business World as being a 'Tax haven' . The Economic Recession? There is much talk on the island that we have not been hit in the same way as the U.K however how true this is i am not sure of.

The outbreak of the Influenza / H1N1 virus more commonly known to the public as 'Swine Flu' has now been categorised by the World Health Organisation as being at the level of a pandemic. With over 100,000 suspected cases in the U.K it is no surprise that panic has set in. This public panic is not helped by the frenzy which has been created by the media.

Yesterday morning i attended a seminar delivered by the Director of Public Health on the Isle of Man who outlined steps and precautions that businesses should be taking to ensure that they are adequately prepared (as far as possible) for when - notice it is When? the pandemic reaches the island and not if?... Currently there are 12 confirmed cases on the island and there has yet to be patient to patient spreading of the disease.

However once this occurs 1.4 - 1.8 out of ten infected people can then go on to infect 14-18 others. Adults are not infectious unless they are showing syptoms. Once these levels occur on the Island it is almost certain that there will be border closures and therefore the importation levels of goods will be dramatically reduced as a result. It has been confirmed that at least one ferry a day will arrive into the Island's ferry terminal primarily bringing food and drug supplies to the island. This to many may be a worrying thought. However, the Isle of Man's population will be able to receive a diagnosis from a trained health professional unlike in the UK - untrained staff are manning the call centres there. The autumn - winter period is likely to see 30-40% of the Manx population affected by the pandemic. However, i reiterated that it was made clear that the media generation of paroxysmal public panic is of no benefit to anyone. There is no need to use Tamiflu as a preventative measure , it is only of benefit to those who have actually contracted the virus. Buying bogus Tamiflu on the internet is not going to help you. Consumers doing this have already aided tamiflu to overtake viagra as the number one selling product on the internet. The main message from the seminar was do not panic, there is no need. Instead, ensure you are prepared as far as possible for the outbreak this is done by implementing the relevant policies, registering bank staff and of course designating a flu buddy (to collect your Tamiflu from a flu centre.