The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the spread
of Ebola in West Africa an international health emergency. According to BBC
News, WHO officials said a coordinated international response was essential to
stop and reverse the spread of the virus. Although the recommendations stop
short of international flight and trade restrictions, they have symbolic
significance. The measures are designed to ‘galvanise the attention of leaders
of countries at a top level,’ says director-general Dr Margaret Chan. Keiji
Fukuda, the WHO’s head of health security, said that with the right steps and
measures to deal with infected people, Ebola’s spread could be stopped.
The Ebola out-break should act as a timely reminder for
companies to ensure they have pandemic strategies in place as part of their
business continuity management plans. Tracey Linnell, GM: Advisory Services at
ContinuitySA is quoted in ITWeb as saying: ‘Companies need to look at the
current Ebola outbreak and what risks it poses to them and their employees, and
put protocols in place now At the same time, they should make sure their
overall approach to pandemics is in place.’ Linnell says that companies whose
people travel into the region or that have business relationships with it need
to be sure they are educating staff about symptoms and are monitoring the
health of at-risk employees. They also need to have a plan for getting employees
out of countries they might be visiting if borders are closed. Linnell says
that companies that documented pandemic strategies for the SARS scare in 2003
could use them as the basis for an Ebola strategy. Companies need to have a
comprehensive strategy in place for educating staff about the risks posed by
Ebola, and inform them about the emergency procedures put in place should they
show any symptoms.
Contractors at ArcelorMittal SA’s iron ore mine in Liberia
are evacuating the country and other miners are sending staff home to prevent
the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, reports Reuters Health. Mining companies
in West Africa are acting swiftly to keep Ebola at bay, screening employees and
restricting access to remote mining camps while keeping production of iron ore
and gold ticking. A prolonged outbreak, however, will threaten mineral
production in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea if essential supplies are
disrupted and employees stay away from work too long. Or worse: should a miner
or family member contract the virus. ‘I think everyone is mindful that it's
something that has the potential to impact businesses,’ Mark Bristow, CEO of
Randgold Resources, which mines gold in Mali, across the border from Guinea, is
quoted as saying. Though it has no mines in countries affected thus far,
Randgold is among several miners in West Africa to have launched preventive
measures against the Ebola outbreak.
Minerals group Sierra Rutile has begun screening its workers
for early signs of Ebola, put travel restrictions in place and limited access
to its operations in West Africa. Engineering News reports that the company,
which mines rutile in south-west Sierra Leone, said the measures were
precautionary and designed to reduce any risk to its employees, contractors and
visitors. There have been no reported or suspected cases of Ebola to date at
Sierra Rutile’s operations and production has not been disrupted as a result of
the outbreak. The company said it had contingency plans should the situation
worsen.
