Bird flu — understanding the employee- and country-specific social and cultural factors that will impede the prevention, treatment and containment of an outbreak
Abstract
Cases of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in humans have resulted mainly from contact with sick poultry. Should the virus mutate, however, thereby enabling transmission between humans, pandemic avian influenza would rapidly ensue. Much of the risk governing animal-to-human transmission of the virus depends upon cultural factors located in poultry market exposure, traditional animal husbandry methods, and healthcare and health-seeking behaviour. In the event of a viral mutation, these cultural factors will correspondingly influence human-to-human transmission risk. Given that social and cultural risk factors for transmission are local and specific to communities, this poses a problem for businesses attempting to address risk factors specific to their workforce. This paper recommends that businesses perform evidence-based assessments of their workforce, to survey individuals regarding the aforementioned cultural factors. Businesses should work with local health authorities to use these assessments for culturally-specific health messaging to decrease employee risk for transmission of avian influenza in its zoonotic stage, as well as in the event of a human pandemic.
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Author's Biography
Michael Anastario has seven years of experience working in evaluation research, and is currently a Research Associate at the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine. He specialises in quantitative methodology, and has worked with nonprofits, NGOs and academic researchers on various public health evaluation projects. He received his BA, MA and PhD in Sociology from Boston College.
Lynn Lawry is a specialist in internal medicine, women’s health, and epidemiology. She is currently an Associate Director and Director of Research for the Center of Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine in Washington, DC in addition to being the Director of the Initiative on Global Women’s Health in the Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and an Associate at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Dr Lawry has 15 years of humanitarian aid and complex disaster experience in more than a dozen countries worldwide. Her research focuses on the health consequences of human rights violations in places like Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Darfur, Iraq. She is the author of many publications including book chapters and journal articles relating to these health and human rights issues.
Citation
Anastario, Michael and Lawry, Lynn (2007, August 1). Bird flu — understanding the employee- and country-specific social and cultural factors that will impede the prevention, treatment and containment of an outbreak. In the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, Volume 1, Issue 4. https://doi.org/10.69554/KVTD7319.
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