[PBARC] ADVISORY: CIP:A/H1N1 Influenza Outbreak

Wed Apr 29 18:15:51 EDT 2009

Industry Advisory 

CIP: A/H1N1 Influenza Outbreak

Initial Distribution: April 29, 2009      

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the level of influenza
pandemic alert to phase 5: "human-to-human spread of the virus into at
least two countries in one WHO region." 

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Additional Instructions:

NERC Advisories are not the same as a reliability standard, and your
organization will not be subject to penalties for a failure to address
this Advisory.  Additionally, issuance of this Advisory does not lower
or otherwise alter the requirements of any approved Reliability
Standard, or excuse the prior failure to follow the practices discussed
in the Advisory if such failure constitutes a violation of a Reliability
Standard. NERC Advisories are designed to improve reliability by
disseminating critical reliability information and are made available
pursuant to Rule 810 of NERC's Rules of Procedure, for such use as your
organization deems appropriate. No particular response is necessary.

Distribution:

Informational Send: Additional Alerts Contacts

All Registered Entities 

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Primary Interest Groups:

Management, Critical Facilities, IT Resources

Advisory:

In consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, the ES-ISAC
advises all Registered Entities to review their organization's pandemic
plans and take appropriate actions to mitigate influenza infections. 

As a precaution and to aid in the mitigation of future infections,
specific consideration should be given to the following: 

*	 Consider curtailing all non-essential gatherings in affected
communities 
*	Consider postponing non-essential travel to countries, regions
and communities where confirmed cases exist.

*	Raise employee awareness via educational material and encourage
in-office self-cleaning of work areas with an anti-viral cleaner (i.e.
5% bleach solution), especially during shift turnover 
*	Encourage symptomatic employees (fever, aches, sweating) to
return home and consult their physician if suffering from an
influenza-like illness 
*	Review critical personnel / functions to prepare for possible
workforce reduction if the outbreak continues to progress

*        Reaffirm external IT needs in accordance with possible
reduction of workforce and to accommodate employees who will be able to
work from home.

Actions people can take to stay healthy include:

*	Cover nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
Discard tissue after use. 
*	Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing
or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand-cleaner is also effective. 
*	Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth to avoid spread of germs. 
*	Try to avoid close contact with sick people. 

If you have flu-like symptoms, CDC recommends that you stay home from
work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting
them.

The ES-ISAC estimates that the risk to bulk power system reliability
from this outbreak is currently LOW due to the limited impact on
communities. The situation is still developing, however, and this
estimate is subject to change.  It is important to note that this
outbreak is very difficult to predict.  

Background:

The Director-General of the WHO has raised the level of influenza
pandemic alert to phase 5 on Wednesday, April 29.  Phase 5 is
characterized by the WHO as follows:

Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at
least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be
affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal
that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the
organization, communication, and implementation of the planned
mitigation measures is short. 

Experts are advising that, with the widespread presence of the virus,
containment of the outbreak is not feasible. The current focus should be
on mitigation measures.  

More information on WHO phases is available at: 
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/phase/en/index.html
<http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/phase/en/index.html> 

Pandemics have the potential to affect infrastructure as the potential
for workforce reduction increases.

Additional reference information on the A/H1N1 outbreak is available at:

World Health Organization: 
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html
<http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html>  

Public Health Agency of Canada: 
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/alert-alerte/swine_200904-eng.php
<http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/alert-alerte/swine_200904-eng.php>  

U.S. Centers for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
<http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/>  

U.S. Department of State: 
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4488.html
<http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4488.html>  

U.S. Strategy for Pandemic Flu:
http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/programs/editorial_0760.shtm 

U.S. Critical Infrastructure Guide:
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/pdf/CIKRpandemicInfluenzaGuide.pdf

NERC pandemic planning documents are available at:

http://www.nerc.com/docs/cip/Influenza%20Pandemic%20Reference%20Guide.pd
f
<http://www.nerc.com/docs/cip/Influenza%20Pandemic%20Reference%20Guide.p
df> 

http://www.nerc.com/docs/cip/Influenza%20Pandemic%20Summary.pdf
<http://www.nerc.com/docs/cip/Influenza%20Pandemic%20Summary.pdf>  

Contact:

Doug Newbauer 

Alerts Manager 

609-937-3413 

doug.newbauer at nerc.net <mailto:doug.newbauer at nerc.net>  

To report any impacts related to this alert, contact:

ES-ISAC 24-hour hotline

609.452.1422

esisac at nerc.com <mailto:esisac at nerc.com> 

A-2009-04-29-01

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You have received this message because you are listed as an additional
alert contact for your organization on the North American Electric
Reliability Corporation's compliance registry. If you believe you have
received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and
delete or otherwise dispose of all occurrences or references to this
email. If you have questions about your membership in this list, please
contact Doug Newbauer at NERC by calling 609.937-3413 or emailing Doug
directly at: doug.newbauer at nerc.net <mailto:doug.newbauer at nerc.net> . 

North American Electric Reliability Corporation 
116-390 Village Blvd. 
Princeton , NJ 08540 
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