This practical guide helps leaders understand the threat pandemics pose to society, the overall economy, and their businesses. Using illustrative examples, this book helps readers develop business-continuity plans to deal with the economic and medical consequences of a crisis. A pandemic is an epidemic that covers a huge swath of the country or even the world. And it's just as scary as it sounds: For example, it's estimated that up to a third of the U.S. population could fall ill in an Avian flu pandemic, costing the U.S. economy alone up to $675 billion. Worse, pandemics shatter lives and businesses and tend to rock society to its foundations. But humanity has been through pandemics before. As disaster-management and business-continuity expert Geary Sikich shows in this book, there are ways to make the best of a bad situation. These methods improve the chance that businesses will remain resilient, and people healthy, employed, and productive—even in the darkest days of an international disaster. Practical and hands on, the book provides step-by-step guidance in the form of evaluation and assessment tools, exercises, and detailed examples. Special tools include an easy-to-use roadmap for developing and maintaining a comprehensive business-continuity plan.