Will you PERSONALLY survive the KILLER Flu??

[Silverhair]

This has the potential to be far more serious than any Partisan politics.

FACT: In 1918 the great flu epidemic killed over 675,000 Americans. That was from a population base of 100M. Worldwide fatalities are estimated as between 50-100M from a population of 1B. So, although we think of flu as a minor disease, like a bad cold, it can be a serious killer. Google around and read what life was like during that epidemic. Basic services ceased in many places.

FACT: Of the last 23 known cases of Asian Bird Flu, 18 have died. A human who is in close contact with infected bird can catch the flu from them, but human to human transmission is not yet known to have happened. However, pigs can easily get both human flu and bird flu. If a pig catches both at the same time, or a human does, then the flu viruses wpould mix while in the same host. A new form would be almost certain to emerge that could be as contagious to humans as the normal flu, and still have the same lethality. The World Health Organization is very worried about it.

From what I have read, a vaccine can't be ready until 2007. If this flu makes its break before then, we could all be in deadly danger.

So, if this flu goes on a rampage, there will be little that governments can do about it. Personal survival will be up to us as individuals.

Therefore, I ask this question: What can we as individual do to realistically increace our personal chances.

Obviously, we can all wear medical masks if it breaks out. That alone may be enough. In China, when SARS broke out everyone started wearing masks and SARS stopped. Did the masks help? I can't say they did, but they didn't hurt. Masks do stop you from inhaling virus laden droplets of moisture sneezed and coughed out by diseased people. I bought a couple of boxes of masks for the house. That way if it breaks out, I will be ahead of the rush on the stores for them. If it doesn't, well I use them anyway when I am doing certain jobs around the house. (Power sanding to avoid breathing the dust.)

Frequent hand washing is a must. Many of the things you handle will be contaminated.

Kleenex cooperation has marketed a facial tissue that has a middle layer of virus killing stuff. If you cough, sneeze, or spit into it, the virus stop there. If I worked in an office, and this flu starts spreading, I would see that everybody had a box of these new Kleenex at their desk, even if I had to buy it myself. NO, I DON'T OWN ANY KLEENEX STOCK!!!!!!

What other reasonable things can you think of that could help one avoid a killer flu, beside leaving for the desert and living in a cave?