Advising staff on preparing for pandemic flu

In a statement, the Cabinet Office said: "As part of planning for a possible pandemic, businesses and other organisations may wish to circulate introductory information and advice to their staff to raise awareness about pandemic influenza."

It added that if the risk of a possible pandemic were to increase, or should one occur, the Government would issue further public health information.

The advice joins other currently available Government guidance and advice for businesses and organisations to assist pandemic influenza planning, which can be found on the UK Resilience website - see link above/right.

The Cabinet Office said that publication of the latest 6-page guide did not mean either an increase in the risk of a pandemic emerging or that a pandemic was necessarily imminent.