A pandemic is a global disease outbreak marked by serious illness that spreads easily person-to-person worldwide. An influenza pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges for which there is little or no immunity in the human population. The 1918 influenza pandemic is regarded as the most deadly single human disease outbreak in history. An estimated 25 to 30 percent of the 1.8 billion people in the world became ill. At least 25-50 million of those infected died in less than a year, including over 500,000 Americans.

There is a potential pandemic threat from the H5N1 Avian influenza, known as the “bird flu.” More than half of those infected with this virus have died. At present the H5N1 virus has only been transmitted from birds to humans. Health experts anticipate that if the H5N1 virus mutates and becomes easily transmitted from human to human, there could be over 2 billion infected and as many as 180-360 million deaths worldwide.

A pandemic outbreak of H5N1 or any other virus would immediately affect employees and workplace operations in a negative way. Planning for this type of non-traditional emergency is important in order to protect the health and safety of legislative branch employees and minimize the impact on society and the economy. Currently, there is no central Pandemic Flu Plan for congressional offices. Each office should develop its own plan — with reference to the resources listed below — that should account for visitors and assign roles and responsibilities.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website provides pandemic plan preparation guidance. These guides can help congressional offices identify exposure and health risk levels in workplace settings. Appropriate control measures that include good hygiene, cough etiquette, social distancing, the use of personal protective equipment, and staying home from work when ill are also included.