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iJET Issues 2008 Review & Forecast Report on Avian Influenza and Pandemic Preparedness

Posted on: Tuesday, 17 March 2009, 07:45 CDT

Report Demonstrates Need for Continued Pandemic Planning Despite Challenging Economic Climate

ANNAPOLIS, Md., March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- iJET Intelligent Risk Systems, a leading provider of global intelligence and business resiliency services, today announced the publication of its annual report: 2008 Review and Forecast: Avian Influenza and Pandemic Planning. Developed by iJET's health intelligence team, this report provides an in-depth analysis of worldwide events associated with avian influenza, details scientific developments, summarizes progress toward corporate and government pandemic preparedness and provides an outlook for the coming year.

iJET's 2008 Review and Forecast: Avian Influenza and Pandemic Planning report includes a special focus on Indonesia, the Indian subcontinent, Vietnam, Egypt, China and Hong Kong as well as a chapter on political and economic issues associated with pandemic preparedness.

International experts are increasingly recognizing the serious impact that a 1918-like pandemic might have on an already-compromised global economy and on national security. In 2008, the World Bank revised upwards its estimation of the likely economic impact of a pandemic, to $3 trillion globally. Further, the U.K. now lists pandemic influenza as the greatest risk in terms of potential lives lost and economic impact facing the country today. Despite these assessments, pandemic preparedness among governments and corporations continues to fall short and a declining economy could further hamper preparations.

"The news media is flooded with reports and statistics of avian influenza incidents, but few routinely unify this data and offer the predictive analysis organizations need in order to prepare for and survive such an occurrence," says Steve Cunnion, Medical Director for the National Security Health Policy Center of the Potomac Institute of Policy Studies and a member of iJET's Health Intelligence Board. "iJET's report provides critical information that can serve as the basis of support for organizations to update, develop or even defend their pandemic planning efforts."

The 31-page report, which comes with a standalone six page "Executive Summary and Forecast" companion piece, offers the critical intelligence needed to ensure organizations have the necessary tools for incorporating pandemic preparedness into their overall business resiliency plans.

"Successful organizations realize that continuity planning of all types, including pandemic planning, is especially important during economic downturns, and mitigating risk does not necessarily mean an increase in spending," said Dr. Joan Pfinsgraff, Director of Health Intelligence for iJET. "Improving corporate resiliency may simply require allocating spending and resources more judiciously -- on early warning indicators, monitoring of threats, and reviewing continuity plans to ensure appropriate escalation and communication protocols are in place."

The 2008 Review and Forecast: Avian Influenza and Pandemic Planning report is based on data from iJET's World Pandemic Monitor (www.worldpandemicmonitor.com), which provides real-time alerts, authoritative analysis, and best practices tools to help businesses mitigate the risks associated with a vast number of global health concerns.

For more information on the report, iJET's World Pandemic Monitor or other health-related services please visit www.ijet.com.

About iJET Intelligent Risk Systems

iJET Intelligent Risk Systems (iJET) is an intelligence-driven provider of business resiliency and risk management solutions to more than 450 multinational corporations and governments -- helping them survive and thrive amidst global threats to their people, facilities and supply chain assets.

iJET's services, team of world-class intelligence analysts and patented Worldcue technology solutions equip decision-makers and organizations with real-time information to anticipate, respond to and emerge from business disruptions with a competitive edge. Intelligence services, like iJET's Worldcue Global Control Center solution, provide decision makers with timely, actionable information on potential disruptions or emerging threats to employees, operating assets, and suppliers.

For more information, please visit: www.ijet.com/resilient

iJET, Travel Intelligence and Worldcue are registered trademarks of iJET Intelligent Risk Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE iJET Intelligent Risk Systems

Source: PR Newswire

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