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Businesses brace for pandemicEconomic impact may far exceed SARS, some analysts sayFrom Eunice Yoon  When SARS hit, there was more staff than people at Hong Kong's main airport. ON CNNI-TVHEALTH LIBRARYRELATED
QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSHONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Today Hong Kong's international airport is bustling with activity -- a sign the good economic times are back in this territory that sits on China's southern coast. It was a different story when the deadly SARS virus hit this city of 6.8 million people in 2003. Then the airport was near empty as travel all but stopped in the virus' wake, as experts realized it was spreading around the world on planes. Originating in southern China, SARS ended up killing 800 people worldwide. In a recent report, Hong Kong-based financial services firm CLSA said SARS cost the world between $30 billion-$50 billion, with most of the impact concentrated in the second quarter of 2003. With fears growing that the flu killing birds could mutate and spread between humans, business executives in Asia worry any major outbreak could damage the economy more than SARS. "Anything like this will affect the world. It will immobilize the whole world. It's not just our problem," says Albert Yu, of the biotechnology company Hong Kong DNA Chips. The Asian Development Bank estimates even a "relatively mild pandemic" could cost the region up to $110 billion, not just because of the number of sick people, but because of the fear. Shops and restaurants would likely stand empty, tourism would grind to a halt and even trade and manufacturing could shut down with executives and workers holed up in their homes. A severe outbreak, the bank says, could send the global economy plunging into recession. Many companies in tourism and beyond are now making contingency plans to protect themselves as best they can. Hotel chain Intercontinental, for one, is stepping up preventative measures by focusing on hygiene and food safety. "We are sourcing poultry products from reliable and reputable suppliers. We make sure that there is no cross contamination, for example between raw meat and fruits and vegetables," says Simon Loh, risk manager for Intercontinental group. Like many other business executives, Loh is concerned about what a bird flu pandemic would mean for the chain's staff, its customers, and the business' overall operations, let alone the world. The group also is reviewing plans to stockpile antiviral drugs like Tamiflu or Relenza, which the World Health Organization has recommended governments use if a pandemic breaks out. Research firm Gartner says companies should consider splitting their staff into shifts and leasing laptops to make it easier for employees to work from home. "So set it up so that you've got policies and plans and procedures in place and in the event that you have a crisis you can roll it out on a larger scale," says Dion Wiggins, from Gartner group. To protect his business, Hong Kong poultry farmer Kwan Wing-kin is investing in more disinfectants, protective clothing and vaccines for his chickens. But Kwan is pessimistic chicken farming can be sustained in such a densely populated region. "No future. I think I see no future in Hong Kong," he says. The economic health of cities like Hong Kong rely on the proximity of people to one another and the ease of free trade. But these are the very factors epidemiologists worry make such cities vulnerable to a pandemic, such as bird flu. 
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