Flu virus can disrupt business travel

The flu season this winter has been brutal. There have been nearly 20,000 people forced to their sick beds by the flu. There have been four people killed by the flu virus. Although DC has been able to prevent the virus from reaching epidemic levels with a strong campaign to encourage residents to get the flu vaccine, New York has declared a public health emergency as 15,000 cases of the flu were reported in January 2013.

The question many people ask when a viral outbreak occurs is where did the virus come from? Well, on February 13, 2012, business travelers and commuters flying from Tokyo to Auckland, New Zealand, were taken from their airplane and held in quarantine by the New Zealand authorities out of fear that they might be infected with the flu virus.

The fear year was based on the fact the flu virus had infected 2 million people in Japan. The news today is that the especially virulent strain may have its origins in Sidney, Australia. The next reasonable question is how did the virus get to New York and DC? The answer is public spaces and travel.

The problem for small business owners is travel and the flu virus do not mix. Doctors will order bed rest and plenty of fluids. Hard to do on a plane. The answer is travel insurance in the event that a flu virus interferes with travel plans. The unwise move is to travel with a flu virus.

Many small business people choose to travel even while they are sick because they cannot afford to lose their airfare and they do not want to pay re-booking fees. However, purchasing travel insurance is a smart investment in case the flu virus does strike. Traveling while sick will only make other people sick.

Trawick International provides travel insurance coverage that addresses many of the problems a person faces when forced to cancel travel because of the flu. "When you have an international health issue like flu or Norovirus occurring , it makes sense to cover trips against unexpected illness and injuries," said Daryl Trawick, president, Trawick International.

The DC Health Department recommends that DC residents over the age of 6 months to protect against a flu epidemic in DC. Although, some people fear getting the flu shot, the health department believes that the flu vaccine is the best way to protect DC residents against influenza viruses. On a recent visit to Howard University Hospital there were many people being treated for the flu.

DC residents are encouraged to contact their primary care provider to get the vaccine; however those residents who do not have a primary care provider can also get the vaccine at some local grocery stores or pharmacies.

As part of the Districts immunization efforts, the Department of Health will offer flu vaccines to DC residents who are under insured or uninsured. The clinic is located at 6323 Georgia Ave, NW, suite 305 in Petworth.

The flu is a miserable illness that can take weeks to get over. A flu shot takes five minutes.