This is probably going to be an unpopular diary, but here goes…
Isn’t Bird Flu being hyped in the media the same way that WMD’s were being hyped a few years ago? That doesn’t mean Bird Flu isn’t a legitimate concern, but have we ever asked ourselves why the media is covering it so much? It’s because Bird Flu — or the specter of any pandemic — scares the rich and powerful. And Bird Flu is the feared-pandemic of choice.
The truth is that AIDS, TB, malaria, heart disease and malnutrition are bigger health risks (even in our countries), but they aren’t perceived as social risks, and therefore, of little consequence to the people who control our media. A pandemic moves swiftly and silently and strikes the rich and the poor alike; for that reason, the imagined pandemic is suddenly very newsworthy.
The rich can’t hide from a pandemic. Hence, it’s become a major media issue.
Also… for the rest of us… isn’t there a little bit of Rapture-hunting going on here too? That is to say, isn’t the Bird Flu obsession kind of along the same lines as Peak Oil and the housing bubble? Everyone seems to be waiting for some big catastrophic thing to happen to change society and “clear away the corruption” – rather than actual organizing or collective social action.
They like to scare the crap out of us. They really don’t need much coaxing either. One news outlet feeds off the other, they develop a bird flu theme music and introductory graphics, and suddenly bird flu is a movie of the week. They did it so much with approaching hurricanes that it gave those in the path of Katrina a case of hurricane fatigue that led to a much larger death toll. How about them going “live” to where there were impending thunderstorms last week in the midwest? What’s that all about…are thunderstorms something new?
b/c the media WASN’T covering the threat of a bird flu pandemic.
Perhaps some things are worth getting scared about it, particular if it leads to some useful preventive action?
And when they come up with a plan besides ‘wash your hands and stay home when you’re sick’ maybe it’ll do some good to scare people.
N-95 masks and goggles.
Forget flu shots. There won’t be time to develop them properly. There will be no safety tests. But the US Govt has already decided it can use them on you against your will.
Tamiflu may be a weak reed as well. Improper use in Asia may have reduced its effectiveness.
Everything depends on whether it crosses over to human-human transmission. It hasn’t yet. If it does, it will be sweeping the globe in a matter of months.
Current timetable: Next summer to next winter.
After Katrina, we know the US is incapable of coming up with a plan. Which means thinking ahead and coming up with your own–knowing that others will be doing the same.
The folks who did well in Katrina were those who thought things through carefully and then ignored, avoided, or evaded the government. This will be true for bird flu as well.
And rubber gloves. And a whole bunch of soap.
Forget depending on the medical infrastructure. It will collapse. Flu, even pandemic forms, can be successfully treated at home with a little knowledge (learn) and common sense.
Bird flu apparently can cause a failure of breathing. This is fatal, but ventilation equipment can keep you going and bridge the way to recovery. This is the one circumstance I have heard of where medical intervention seems clearly to help.
But in a real crisis, you are right, the system will just be overwhelmed.
Influenza can cause a over-reaction by the bodies defensive mechanisms with people in the prime of life being most affected. The lungs fill with fluid and they just simply drown.
I’m only going to say: “There are ways to deal with this in the home” and leave everybody to research it on their own.
a year ago when the common reaction was incredulity and ignorance.
I stopped updates/posts when it went mainstream.
The world will experience a flu pandemic. It will be as bad as the Spanish Flu outbreak. Millions of people will die. This is a fact of viruses and humans.
H5N1 has all the potential for a cross-species jump to a pandemic outbreak in humans. Will it? Who knows.
Given the state (disasterous) of the Public Health system in the US a little fear and panic is a good thing. IMSOHO. YMMV.