Planning for Bird Flu/Swine Flu

Cybercat

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The title of the thread says it all...is anyone preparing for the possible mutation of bird flu into something very scary?

I'm not prepared- not even a little..The cases of human contracted bird flu are very very rare, but increasing...and showing up in other mammal species. Apparently a mutation has been found in racoons in Japan.

I've read some decent forums and some really 'out-there' forums...I'd like to know the impressions that you guys have about this topic.

Leanne
 

ticks

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No, I'm not going to prepare for something that is currently a rare disease in another continent.
 

inchworm

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I'm hoping that by the time it mutates to be prevalent among humans, it will mutate to be something easier to deal with :fl
 

patandchickens

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The only real serious problem would be if a version should turn up that affects humans *and* is transmitted very easily from person to person e.g. airborne. Will that ever happen? Absolutely impossible to predict. It is pretty unlikely, but of course a few unlikely things do end up happening. Just plain avian flu is not a problem, and the one strain that has been shown to affect humans seems to require intensive contact with the birds. Cases are undoubtedly increasing in part because efforts to IDENTIFY them are increasing. Same with strains that affect other species. Ten years ago, hardly anyone was even *looking*, whereas now, dot dot dot.

I don't honestly see how it is possible to prepare for a global flu pandemic, other than putting yourself in a solid position for dealing with *any* sort of large-scale long-duration emergency.

Other than, if it ever does happen, might be worth buying pharmaceutical company stocks immediately before the price starts to go up :p

Honestly, my money is on there probably *being* some sort of large global outbreak of a moderately-severe-mortality easily-contagious disease at some point in the next couple hundred years at least... but my money is on it being something nobody expected. There are just toooo many possibilities. Why worry, you can't do anything about it except deal with whatever happens. As with lotsa things in life, really :)

JMHO,

Pat
 

farmerlor

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I'm not terribly concerned about bird flu but I prepare for any pandemic the way I prepare for anything else, by having lots of stuff stored away so that if we need to quarantine ourselves to stay healthy we'll be able to do so for a long period of time.
 

Blackbird

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I agree with pat, and I'm not really going to even think about that.. But if it does happen, I'm gonna be up the creek with all the poultry I have. :gig
 

Carolyn

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I am concerned about it--I think that it was a form of bird flu that killed people in 1918--if I understand it correctly, it came here via soldiers in the war. We lost relatives to it. I think just because we think we have ways to fight it--many types of virus are immune to any types of antibiotics. Look at MRSA. I'm not saying it will happen, but right now, one never knows what can happen. But being self sufficient is the key for many scenios including "bird flu". If the "germ" mutates, it can become airborne, with everyone traveling the way we do, who knows what can come of it. Being prepared for anything and everything has all the bases covered. Carolyn
 
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