Preventing A Bird Flu Outbreak...

[Media_Lies_Daily]

Preventing A Bird Flu Outbreak
Thursday, March 10, 2005, 10:09:05 PM
By Keisha Brown
KCRG-TV9 News

<http://www.kcrg.com/article.aspx?art_id=96273&cat_id=123>

QUOTE:

(Cedar Rapids – KCRG) -- "Scientists at the state health lab are preparing for a possible worldwide outbreak of what some call the bird flu. National health officials have recently discovered that avian flu can now be spread between humans."

Human to human. Stand by for heavy rolls.

[Amfortas]

1. Dupe.

[Occulus]

2. Okay, I mentioned this last summer.....

I was alll a-twitter over this, and nobody really listened, I was labeled a bit of a nut, I believe, by some.....

Does everybody here truly understand how bloody serious this is now? It's gone human-human. It's "over 70% fatal". It has the potential to be a pandemic.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

3. I've been watching this, too, and just found out today that some bird....

...and turkey flocks were culled for Avian Flu in the state of Virginia THREE years ago!

Yes...it's going to be very bad if it starts to spread outside of Southeast Asia.

I think I'm going to start re-reading "The Stand" by Stephen King.

[Occulus]

5. 75% FATAL.

Good Lord. Seventy-five percent.

Now, I must add... is this in areas with poor hygiene/medical care? That may make a difference in industrialized nations.

That said, the US Postal Service, for example, has no protections in place for this situation. I'm willing to bet other postal systems are in a similar state. The same is true for transportation.

I'm out of a job for a while if this breaks out.

[SnowGoose]

27. Remember that these numbers

are based on both a numerator and a denominator. If there are significant numbers of infected people who don't get seen by a physician who's reporting numbers (or don't get seen at all), they won't get counted in the total of infected non-fatalities.

So the number is likely to be substantially off, with the bias toward overestimating the death-rate.

Of course I'm not trying to say this is anything other than a huge deal - epidemiologists have been warning us for many years that we're overdue for another pandemic.

[pandemic_1918]

30. Second Health Care Worker in Thai Binh Hospitalized

A second health care worker in Thai Binh has been hospitalized

http://news.google.com/news?q=bird+flu+thai+binh&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=nn&oi=newsr

Not clear if she was infected by patient or the other infected health care worker

Two health care workers linked to same patient is BIG red flag

[NYC]

7. A few other states, too.

Delaware and Maryland, I think. I have the information somewhere if you want it. Let me know.

[anitar1]

10. Hey--The Stand is not far off the mark. His best book IMHO n/t

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. I remember when you predicted this

and I kept looking for your updates.
Stay on it! :toast:

[Occulus]

6. I left it alone for some time because

it seemed to be somewhat ahead of reality.

The guy I got the info from- whom I lost contact with, by the way- apparently knows people in the veterinary (sp?) field, and supposedly had a couple high-level contacts which were mentioned to me, but went unverified.

All that aside, it looks as though he was dead-on correct on this, but for the timing, which was a few months behind what he said. I plan on trying to contact him again in the very near future, so I'll try to pump him for information, but at the moment I'm trying to figure out whether to stay put or flee to a cold, remote climate.

I'm considering the latter, but I know there were Inuit tribes affected by the flu in 1918.

It's always best to be prepared for when the hammer falls, though.

[NYC]

8. How did the Inuit get the flu in 1918?

Travel?

[Occulus]

9. That's what *I'd* like to know.

Traders? Whalers?

Those would be my first guess....

[NYC]

26. Inuit woman.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1511/is_1_21/ai_58398734

The pandemic reached as far south as Cape Town, South Africa, and as far north as Alaska, killing 72 of the 80 residents of one Inuit village in a week...

The most dramatic phase of flu research began in the 1950s with the quest for a 1918-flu virus specimen, and Kolata captures the character and flavor of these personality-driven adventures. They include pathologist Johan Hultin's two daring low-budget expeditions to Alaska to dig up frozen corpses of Inuit victims buried since 1918...

These articles don't say how the flu got to the Inuit, just that the Inuit died. I suspect travel is responsible.


http://www.epcc.edu/ftp/Homes/monicaw/borderlands/19_flu_1918.htm

Scientists investigating the 1918 flu were stymied in part by the difficulty of finding viable tissue samples from people who had been dead for more than eight decades. In 1999, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (site not searchable) team used samples from the body of an Alaskan Inuit who was buried in permafrost on the Seward Peninsula, a 21-year-old soldier who died in South Carolina and a 30-year-old who died in New York. The team managed to compose the entire gene for hemagglutinin, a protein the influenza virus uses to infect the cells scientists look at first to determine a flu strain.

http://www.mindfully.org/GE/GE3/Leaping-Flu-Virus.htm

Gibbs' findings are based on a re-examination of gene fragments of the 1918 flu virus extracted from preserved tissue of two soldiers who died of it and from an Inuit woman who also died from the flu and was buried in the Alaskan permafrost.

[pandemic_1918]

31. Human to Human Transmission

Vietnam keeps saying there is no evidence for human to human transmission, which is nonsense. There has never been a documented case of two nurses being infected by H5N1 from the same patient, but either the second nurse was also infected by the patient or she was infected by the other nurse. Either way, human to human transmission is getting more efficient

http://news.google.com/news?q=h5n1+nurse+thai+binh&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=nn&oi=newsr

[nodehopper]

33. dude, I remember you. You were talking about SARS.

http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:ttBTOhn0IsQJ:www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/duboard.cgi%3Faz%3Dshow_thread%26om%3D1113%26forum%3DDCForumID71%26archive%3Dyes+kgfnally+flu&hl=es

I remember more threads in the same vein, and they were all about SARS. How the then-low mortality rate was going to go up, etc.

[Lori Price CLG]

11. Birdflu pandemic may mean some stay home to die

Birdflu pandemic may mean some stay home to die

New Zealand medical authorities may tell some people likely to die from a birdflu pandemic to stay home and not clog up hospitals.

Research published today in the latest New Zealand Medical Journal predicts up to 3700 deaths in New Zealand from a first wave of pandemic influenza and up to a million people infected.

"It is likely that some difficult decisions will be required in limiting hospital care to those where it would most likely affect final health outcomes," the researchers said.

However, that death toll could be as high as 6210 people dead from 20,806 cases of serious illness.

<snip>

Flu 'Oddities' here: http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html

Lori Price
http://www.legitgov.org/

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. 1918 same thing happened

it is called triage and I can understand it, very well.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

15. That, plus the fact that bodies decomposing in the streets can increase...

...the risk of a number of other diseases reaching epidemic proportion and further overloading the medical system.

If this actually happens, it is going to be beyond our capability to comprehend.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

13. People in other countries seem to be taking the Avian Flu seriously....

...but not brave little Georgie! His people want to cut the budget to the CDC!!!

Crikey, mate!

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Brave litle George has not even noticed

and this is the will of God you see, good for the end of times and all that, we need bodies to STACK UP... you see

[benburch]

16. If Georgie gets it...

He'll clear out a whole hospital just to treat himself.

[Lori Price CLG]

17. Cheney has his own hospital, btw. You can be sure the Bush Nazi Cabal...

...will not have to worry.

Cheers,
Lori Price
http://www.legitgov.org/

[Straight Shooter]

34. Yes, but the finest medical care in the world won't help if your body

cannot withstand the virus. Cheney with heart problems, bush with drug addiction immune system problems, Laura the smoker, Vamps the Elder with who-knows-what from his sexual peccadilloes, and bush's mother, well, let's just say Heaven has been waiting a long time to get rid of her. Any excuse will do at this point. She is beginning to frighten the angels.

[Trillo]

18. If an authority decides to quarantine an individual or family

to their home, is ingoing and outgoing mail stopped?

[Trillo]

19. Does the home-quarantined family or individual

have the right to completely prohibit ALL physical contact with medical personnel and other outsiders?

[AlienGirl]

20. State of emergency

I would expect that the National Guard or whomever was called upon to enforce the quartantine would have shoot-to-kill orders.

Tucker

[Trillo]

21. Yes, I imagine you're right. But it wasn't quite my question :)

Will those under quarantine have the legal right to deny entry into their home of any and everyone, including but not limited to those charged with enforcing quarantine?

And to drill it one step deeper, will people not under quarantine be allowed to declare a 'voluntary' quarantine of their home, legally enforceable, to deny entry to any and every 'potential' disease vector? (such as physical mail, deliveries, medical and military personnel, handling of money, etc.)

And to drill it two steps further, if the above rights are granted, will all financial payments required during the epidemic period be voluntarily suspended by creditors such as water utilities, sewer service, all monthly recurring expenses, etc.?

[SoCalDem]

22. Of course those with money to burn will always be welcome

:evilgrin:

[CindyDale]

23. CDC has a new page up on its site

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/gen-info/facts.htm

It's good to see more information becoming available.

[Quakerfriend]

24. The thing about the bird flu is that it kills VERY quickly

Very little time for treatment.

Having worked for the NIH, I remember jumping up and down and pulling my hair when I heard about the cases in Virginia and Maryland, in 03-04. (You DUers have a great memory!)

A homeopathic Rx for this could be very effective. I don't know if one yet exists. I would suspect that MDs in India have been working on 'proving'a remedy for this already.

My great, great grandfather came to Phila in the early 1800s to help treat those who were dying everywhere from the 'yellow fever'. Using homeopathics, they had a 70% cure rate and were successful in eradicating the disease. He describes the excitement he felt in one of his books like this:

"The treatment was so successful, I felt that I could raise the dead!"

If a pandemic does occur, we should all be prepared to look for trmts other than those 'offered' by our government!

[CindyDale]

25. I don't know, but I learned some useful things about aloe on DU

It has antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties, and I've been using it externally. I had it growing in a pot outside all along.

Does DU have a section on simple living? I haven't seen one. It would be good to get such a section, if not, to share ideas on energy and oil conservation, home remedies, all kinds of things.

[DemExpat]

28. Economic activism and progressive living Group might have some

topics of interest for you.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=255

:hi:

DemEx

[CindyDale]

29. Thanks, DemEx, that's helpful n/t

[all.of.me]

36. if you find out what remedy would work, please post it!

i only use homeopathics treating our family. it's like magic! i haven't looked into what may work against the symptoms of this flu.

i have also used oregano oil for viral infections. that is magic, too. it's been knocking out flu here all winter.

[patalicat]

32. Please Help.. Question about Tamiflu

Can anyone recommend the amount needed to be ordered for my wife and I. Thanks a bunch, patalicat

[Bruce McAuley]

35. A simple, effective way to kill viruses...

is a sauna.
Two 10 minute sessions with a 5 minute break in between at a sauna temperature of 150 degrees Farenheit will knock most viruses in the dirt. Repeat for 3 days running for hardy viruses.
It mimics and improves on the body's system of getting a fever to kill the virus.
FYI

Bruce

[CindyDale]

37. I think steam room is good too, maybe better

I used to work in an exercise club when I was in college, and I would use the steam room.

Whenever I would start to get symptoms of a cold, it would completely dissipate after I went in and inhaled steam for a few minutes. You have to do it right at the beginning of the first symptoms, though, or it doesn't work, I remember.

There was a virologist, Dr. Gwaltney in Virginia, who developed a steam machine for colds at one time. I was really surprised never to hear more about this. Let me check the Web now. OK, here is why maybe:

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/271/14/1112

Be that as it may, I can say that steam completely suppressed my symptoms provided I used it right away after they started to develop. I have no idea whether the steam stopped virus shedding, of course. :-)

I'm really glad you brought this up. You know those facial sauna machines? It might be a terrific idea to buy one of those.