US survey: 70% of respondents believe AI outbreak likely
A recent US survey shows that 70 percent of respondents believe an outbreak of bird flu is likely in North American, while only 25 percent of respondents are aware of a bird flu pandemic plan being in place at their workplace.
As the cold and flu season approaches and as concerns about avian flu rise, workplace preparedness is lagging behind, according to a survey from Kimberly-Clark Professional.
Seventy percent of respondents said they believed avian flu was likely to hit North America, but only 25 percent responded “yes” when asked: “Has your company engaged in building a plan in the event of an actual outbreak of the avian flu?” Forty percent expressed concern about an avian flu outbreak in their workplace.
Respondents also rated a list of possible actions employers could take to minimise workplace risk associated with avian flu outbreak. Most respondents supported the idea of having posters in common areas reminding people of respiratory etiquette and hand-washing. Respondents also responded positively to the ideas of establishing emergency plans or kits and providing information resources and training to workers.
The national, online survey was conducted in May and polled employees in health care, science, manufacturing, office buildings, lodging and other industries. Kimberly-Clark Professional issued the voluntary, non-random survey using its own industry e-newsletter and received 379 responses.
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