Bird Flu - sorry, still not buying this!

[LynneSin]

Hell I'm still waiting for the Killer Bees to come kill me off!

And our administation paid with our tax dollars made dumbass recommendations like this?

This is nothing more than screaming "THE SKY IS FALLING"

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-02-bird-flu_x.htm

Bush administration predicts massive disruptions if pandemic hit
Posted 5/2/2006 4:58 AM ET E-mail | Save | Print | Subscribe to stories like this
By Nedra Pickler, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Employers should have plans to keep workers at least three feet apart, colleges should consider which dormitories could be used to quarantine the sick, and flight crews should have surgical masks to put on coughing travelers, according to a draft of the government's pandemic flu plan obtained by The Associated Press.

The Bush administration forecasts massive disruptions if bird flu or some other super-strain of influenza arises in the United States. A response plan scheduled to be released at the White House on Wednesday warns employers that as much as 40% of the workforce could be off the job and says every segment of society must prepare.

[Missy M]

1. The Bush administration is only ready for disasters if they...

don't happen, if they happen all bets are off.

[Ian David]

2. Related thread: Avian Flu and the Surveillance Function of the News Media

General Discussion
Avian Flu and the Surveillance Function of the News Media
05:10 PM Mon May-01-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1074736

[riona]

3. We can only predict one thing

- if we can't manage to have enough flu shots every year, it's unlikely we will be prepared for a pandemic.

[soothsayer]

4. hey, where was that big scary flu they expected this year? hmmm

[babylonsister]

5. Be very afraid; I understand it's already hit - Florida!

[TallahasseeGrannie]

6. LOL

dead and stiff already!

Seriously, I have gotten rid of my chickens for the duration of the "scare" (and I agree it is probably hyperbole) But I didn't want to worry about it all. So I sold them. I'll get new eggs when the threat has moved on to something else. I hear the mumps is making a comeback.

Keep employees three feet apart? That's as funny as the duct tape. You try keeping a second grader three feet away from you all day! Can't be done!

[LynneSin]

9. I heard there were cases reported in Orlando

[mcscajun]

7. If BushCo were the only ones screaming about this, I might agree

but as it is, the EU takes this far more seriously than we do. Governments around the world take this far more seriously than we do. Predating any noise coming from Chimpy, I've read extensively on this in numerous articles and publications both domestic and international, scholarly and journalistic, and I'm convinced of the potential, I say again, potential threat posed by the H5N1 virus. Given the time frame to isolate the required viral components in a safe form to manufacture a vaccine, given our pitiful distribution systems, given the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria we've bred from overuse and misuse of antibiotics, we're not in a position to minimize either transmission of the disease or its consequences. If it becomes a pandemic, it would cause widespread personal, economic, and political disruption. All that is just potential risk at the present time. It's not a certainty that that disease will impact us.

It's entirely possible that the virus may not mutate or recombine with a "normal" flu strain to make itself transmissible from human-to-human. That would be great, and whatever precautions we've taken might look silly, even wasteful. Yet it would be criminally negligent not to have plans in place (even though we all know how horrible BushCo is at planning, or execution of a plan, or handling ANY kind of disaster) in the event this virus does make the leap to human-to-human transmission. I'm not counting on this pitiful excuse for a government to keep me safe, and ignoring BushCo's pronouncements, (which as usual are too little, too late) I'm not shaking in my boots or cowering in my basement, but I will make my own preparations to allow me to stay at home for at least six weeks should this thing hit. Duct tape and plastic sheeting are not involved. B-)

BushCo never saw or found a fear it wouldn't or couldn't exploit, and they'll exploit this one, too. They can't help themselves, it's like flies drawn to shit. BushCo didn't manufacture this threat; it doesn't mean they aren't poised to take political and economical advantage of it. If I pick up a hammer, yes, I'm likely using it as a tool. Doesn't mean the hammer wasn't there before I picked it up.

[ChickMagic]

8. Whatever happened to smallpox?

Thet made a big friggin' deal out of that, but it went
over like a lead balloon. My sister (a nurse) had to go
learn how to give smallpox vaccines. Will bird flu go
the way of the dreaded smallpox epidemic?