As of late this morning, the Centers for Disease Control had confirmed 64 cases of swine flu in five states across the U.S.: California, Kansas, New York, Ohio, and Texas. Fortunately, the Centers hadn’t yet recorded any deaths.

The situation appears more serious in other parts of the globe. Mexican authorities yesterday had confirmed 26 cases, including seven deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

In addition, the WHO had raised the pandemic alert phase from three to four. In this phase, human-to-human transmission of the disease has been verified. This means the likelihood of a pandemic, or an epidemic that crosses geographical barriers, has increased, the CDC notes.

Clearly, the primary objective in containing a pandemic is to minimize sickness and fatalities. However, a pandemic can easily disrupt businesses’ operations, as well. Treasurers need to consider potential pandemics, along with natural disasters, in their business continuity planning, says Craig Jeffery, managing partner with the consulting firm Strategic Treasurer, in Peachtree City, Georgia. “Hoping things will go well isn’t a useful substitute for a good structure and tested plan.”

Instead, treasurers need to assess the situation from several angles, Jeffery adds. First, how might the company’s staff and business operations be affected? For instance, employees located in the midst of an outbreak may be out of work for a time, either because they’re infected or because they need to care for family members who are. How will their responsibilities be handled?

Of course, if employees are impacted, the business’s operations will be, as well. If large numbers of employees can’t come to work, a plant may be unable to ship its products. How will that impact sales, cash flow, and customer relationships?

In order for treasury to continue providing support to the business units, members of the treasury department may need to work from home. Treasurers need to regularly test and ensure that the the systems and processes their employees need to work remotely are in good shape, Jeffery says.

Treasurers also will need to monitor the impact a pandemic is having or could have on customers. A major customer located near an outbreak may not be able to complete a planned purchase. Of course, that will affect revenue and cash flow.

At this point, most businesses in the U.S. haven’t been directly impacted by swine flu outbreaks. Even so, treasurers will want to monitor and stay out in front of the situation, Jeffery notes. ###