This article pointed out the recent diagnosis of President Alvaro Uribe, of Colombia, with swine flu. Even worse, the leaders of Colombia have alerted the other leaders that were involved in a regional South American summit last week. While President Uribe is not considered high risk for death from the disease, this is a new turn in the pandemic and public awareness. To date, Colombia has reported 621 cases with 34 deaths, making the mortality rate .05%.

Meanwhile, in the US and UK, school has just resumed and health officials are closely monitoring schools. Plans for handling outbreaks in the schools vary by district, but several are known to be testing plans for tele-education and remote teaching.

Once again, organizations are urged to undertake some form of pandemic planning and testing, as a “just in case” measure for H1N1 and the possibility of a strong flu season this year. SANS has just launched a site dedicated to pandemic planning and news. Check it out for more information, or give us a call and arrange a time to chat.