What is the flu?
The flu is the fever, muscle aches, sore throat, coughing and weakness that happen when a member of the influenza family of viruses moves into your body. The very young, those with chronic illness and the elderly can become more seriously ill.
Preventing the spread of infectious illness at all times is important to your workplace. Each year, an average of 25 per cent of the Canadian population is bedridden for a week with the flu.
Learn about the pandemic flu
Pandemic flu is not your average flu - it’s an outbreak of highly infectious illness on a large scale. It can occur when a new flu virus causes serious human illness and spreads easily from person to person. Currently there is no pandemic flu.
Historically, there have been several outbreaks of pandemic flu within each century. During the last century, three flu pandemics occurred, the largest one in 1918.
Many experts believe that the Avian Flu (Bird Flu) may become the next pandemic.
A pandemic may seriously affect your business and workers’ health. Find out how to control the spread of infection and plan for a possible pandemic. Follow these resource links to help you understand infectious illnesses and develop your workplace prevention and preparedness plans.
WSIB resources
Here are some WSIB resources you can download and use to help control infection, plan for a pandemic, and inform workers.
This pamphlet (234k, pdf) has information about flu, pandemic flu and considerations when planning for the impact of pandemic flu in your workplace. There is also a tip sheet (118k, pdf) and a checklist of considerations (102k, pdf) that will help you with your pandemic planning.
Several resources can be used to provide workers with information on staying healthy (143k, pdf), travelling (143k, pdf), the cold vs. the flu (252k, pdf), and flu and pandemic prevention information (142k, pdf). In addition, this FAQ (31k, pdf) document provides a quick reference for information on pandemic influenza.
Hand washing is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Here is a fact sheet (131k, pdf) to help see if you are doing it properly.
You can also learn more about the Considerations of the World Health Organization's Levels of Pandemic Alert (16k, pdf).
Learn more
CCOHS launched a website called Pandemic Planning. This site gives Canadian employers, workers and practitioners useful information, as well as tools and resources to create healthy workplaces during an influenza pandemic.
The Federal Ministry of Health launched a website on March 27, 2006 to provide one-stop access to information from all Government of Canada departments and agencies on pandemic, avian and seasonal influenza.
The Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) offers a workshop at various locations throughout Ontario. Infectious Diseases and Their Impact on Your Business can help you control the flu and prepare for a major outbreak.
The Ontario Safety Association for Community and Healthcare provides guidance for the protection of health care workers against influenza outbreaks.
Contact your local public health department and/or your municipal government to learn about their pandemic plan. You can find your local public health unit here.
The Ontario Ministry of Labour provides health and safety alerts with links to reliable information, and plays an important role in protecting worker health and safety during emergencies.
The Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion provides information on Avian Flu.
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has developed The Ontario Health Plan for Pandemic Influenza.
In the event of a provincial emergency, see the Ministry of Labour’s Provincial Emergencies and Urgent Advisories page.
The Peel Region Public Health Department has excellent resources to help workplaces prepare for annual and pandemic flu. |
