Protecting Yourself and Your Company from H1N1

As winter approaches, business owners may start seeing employees taking sick days as common colds and the flu start spreading. Business owners should be especially concerned with the spread of the H1N1 virus, also known as the Swine Flu.

It is always a good idea to have a plan in place for your business should something like the H1N1 affect your office. You don’t want your business goals to be affected because of this. If the flu should affect several people in your office it can be detrimental to your business and affect your business success.

H1N1 is contagious and is typically spread from human to human through coughing and sneezing by someone who has the virus. Symptoms of the H1N1 virus include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Body aches
• Chills
• Headaches
• Fatigue

The H1N1 virus can spread rapidly and has the potential to infect an entire office at one time. To help prevent the spread of the virus, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends taking the following precautions:

• Get the H1N1 vaccine
• Wash your hands oftehn with soap and water. If soap is not available, use an alcohol based hand sanitizer
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
• Try to avoid close contact with those who are infected with the virus

For more information on the H1N1 virus, please visit the CDC Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/.