ACTE: To Fight Swine Flu, Biz Travelers Should Avoid Handshakes
September 16, 2009
To avoid contracting and spreading the H1N1 flu virus, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has recommended that business travelers temporarily suspend the Western ritual of shaking hands with clients and contacts, until the swine flu threat has been reduced.
"For years our mothers advised us to always cover our mouths and noses with a hand whenever we coughed and sneezed," ACTE Executive Director Susan Gurley said in a statement that was released this week. "The public has since been told that a cough or sneeze that cannot be caught in a handkerchief should be directed into a cuff or sleeve. I find it highly unlikely that executives will risk soiling their business suits while on the way to an important business meeting, on the odd shot that they could be halting the spread of the H1N1 influenza germ."
In response to such oft-repeated recommendations—which have included frequent hand-washing—ACTE conducted a random and informal poll of its members and concluded that it would be easier to avoid handshakes during the swine flu outbreak than to rely on hygiene rituals alone.
"Considering we are facing a fragile economic recovery, it is in the best interest of the international business travel community to adopt whatever measures are necessary to keep commerce flowing," Gurley continued. "This slight behavioral change could go a long way in reducing the financial impact of a potential pandemic. While it is sad reality that influenza of any type is accompanied by fatalities, I don’t want the business travel industry to be the first one."
Because not all physical contact can be avoided, Gurley recommends that business travelers get vaccinated against H1N1 and—because the vaccine may or may not prevent an infection—carry with them a small, airport security-friendly bottle of hand sanitizer as well as a packet of tissues.
According to projections, swine flu is expected to infect 30 percent to 50 percent of the U.S. population—and kill anywhere from 30,000 to 90,000 Americans—this flu season.
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