Marsh warned that "a pandemic could escalate quickly, last for months, and infect 25 percent or more of the world's population, according to public health experts. Many organizations believe that at the peak of a severe pandemic, up to 75 percent of the workforce may be absent from work."

Aon said there are five immediate steps "that are critical right now for businesses to take to protect employees, customers, supply chain partners, additional stakeholders and business assets":

o Determine the availability of backup suppliers to ensure the supply chain is uninterrupted.

o Look at succession planning for all levels of the organization.

o Create a process for cascading critical messages to employees.

o Develop a protocol to facilitate home working arrangements for employees.

o Inform employees of any travel protocols/restrictions in place.

o Construct a plan of action should an employee be suspected of having A/H1N1 swine influenza when he/she is at work. Firms must develop a plan of action if an employee is suspected and has been in the workplace three-to-four days before the onset of symptoms."

The company said it has a Swine Flu Response Resource site: http://insight.aon.com/?

Marsh recommended that businesses, government entities, colleges and universities, and other organizations review business continuity and crisis management plans and revise or update them.

Gary Lynch, a Marsh managing director and global leader of the firm's Supply Chain Risk Management Practice, said: "While many firms have procedures or crisis management plans to address emergencies that can affect business continuity, they may not adequately cover a situation involving communicable diseases that can affect employees and the general population on a wide scale."

He noted that "even businesses that prepared pandemic plans during the past few years may not have tested them."

Marsh advised firms to monitor the situation very closely, paying particular attention to government and World Health Organization (WHO) advice, and to examine and possibly amend their existing pandemic, business continuity and crisis management plans accordingly.

Mr. Lynch suggested preventive and preparatory actions "that can and should be taken now," which include prioritizing business activities and reviewing and understanding any potential impacts on supply chains.

Reviews of company travel policies, hygiene and medical screening policies, and policies on anti-viral medications and health care support, including providing anti-bacterial sanitizer, masks and other materials, were also suggested.

Marsh suggested reviewing the structure necessary to manage the crisis effectively, including how to implement multiple business continuity plans, cope with significant increases in the number of employees working from home, and substantial changes to the marketplace and the supply chain.

"The focus of business continuity planning and management should be to reduce exposure, proactively minimize impacts, communicate extensively, minimize peaks of absenteeism, plan for the possible recurrence of flu, and constantly adjust business activity and the supply chain to reflect shifts in the local and global marketplace," said Mr. Lynch.

Marsh noted that the WHO yesterday elevated its Pandemic Alert for the virus to "Level Four," adding that a Level 5 means a pandemic is imminent "and that the time to finalize the organization, communication and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short."

The brokerage said if the WHO declares the threat for any pandemic to be Level Six (widespread human infection), businesses will need a crisis management plan that includes tailored elements for pandemic, including policies for business travel, locating staff, social-distancing, medical screening, and an extensive awareness and communications plan and process.

It mentioned having:

o An alternative workforce or work-at-home policy and plan in the event that a large portion of the workforce is or may be impacted by pandemic.

o A strategy for taking special precautions to assess the health of the workforce and potentially turn back infected workers who report for work.

o A process for dealing with emotional impacts of such events as death on the individual's family members and on the workforce in general.

o A process for orderly shutdown or reduced service delivery based on reductions of customer demand, labor force, raw material supply, or energy resources.

o Continuity procedures for core functions that must be kept running.

o A structure and process for working collaboratively with third-party suppliers to maintain critical flows of supplies, business services and products.