The slow but constant migration westwards of bird flu over the last two years has sparked global fears of a pandemic on a scale not seen for almost 100 years. The fear is that a mutated human form of the disease could claim anything from 2m to 50m lives, damage the fabric of nations and, as the International Monetary Fund recently warned, severely disrupt capital flows and undermine the global economy.

While much has been written on the potential impact of a human strain of bird flu, the debate about the effect on business has, to an extent, taken place in private. It must now come out in the public arena because, unless addressed effectively, avian flu could trigger a global depression on the scale seen in the 1930s. If businesses are not prepared, and I fear many are not, this could further complicate any national and global response that is activated to manage and repel a flu pandemic.