View Full Version : Is your family doing anything to prepare for an Avian Flu Pandemic?
Divinus Arma
03-08-2006, 07:47
https://img473.imageshack.us/img473/4971/popmap4yk.jpg (https://imageshack.us)
It's certainly a matter of time before bird flu is global. Whether it muates or not is a completely different question.
Just curious. What if it does mutate? What is going on with your family? Are you doing anything? If so, what?
Samurai Waki
03-08-2006, 08:00
There was a case reported in Poland as well... honestly, unless someone drops dead of it in the US I'm not gonna do much to prepare for it, don't eat too much chicken anyways.
Banquo's Ghost
03-08-2006, 08:03
Nothing at all. This is just another example of modern civilisation panicking unduly. :eeeek:
Even if it does mutate, the odds of it becoming as virulent in humans as in birds are tiny.
I'm far more likely to get hit by a bus this morning - or getting run over by some idiot trying to buy up all the baked beans. :dizzy2:
The_Doctor
03-08-2006, 09:41
Go crazy broardway style.
Bird Flu, Bird Flu, it a hellofa disease...
Devastatin Dave
03-08-2006, 11:09
Regular flu has killed a hell of a lot more just this year than the # of bird flu cases. Just the latest way for governments to keep the citizens scared and waste tax dollars. The levees gonna break oh my!!!
I think my government had done all the necessary protection so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.
Dutch_guy
03-08-2006, 12:43
Not really worried, no sign of the virus has been found in humans and birds in Holland... well not yet
:balloon2:
Do you know how many people died in car accidents in your country so far this year?
Howabout the numbers who have died of TB?
Howabout the 50,000 children a year who die of malaria?
Or as Dave says the thousands who have died already from common flu.
Tribesman
03-08-2006, 13:15
Preparing for bird flu .
Step 1 . Buy a few hundred worn out scrawny old hens for a pittance
Step 2 . Get someone from the Mart or Co-op to do you a reciept for a couple of hundred top quality point of lay pullets .
Step 3 Wait
Step 4 . when it hits get the birds slaughtered and then claim mucho compensation for the loss of your "valuable" flock .
Every cloud of pestilence has a silver lining .:2thumbsup:
KukriKhan
03-08-2006, 13:25
Preparing for bird flu .
Step 1 . Buy a few hundred worn out scrawny old hens for a pittance
Step 2 . Get someone from the Mart or Co-op to do you a reciept for a couple of hundred top quality point of lay pullets .
Step 3 Wait
Step 4 . when it hits get the birds slaughtered and then claim mucho compensation for the loss of your "valuable" flock .
Every cloud of pestilence has a silver lining .:2thumbsup:
And don't forget to record the slaughter (with kids crying in the background), and send copies to the local news station.
The wife and I have 2 "bug-out" kits. 1 for "earthquake-the-house-fell-down-and-we're-on-our-own-for-a-week", and 1 for "get-out-of-town-quick.". Not doing anything special about H5N1.
rory_20_uk
03-08-2006, 13:54
Erm, do what in case of bird flu? Kill all birds in the area? Best kill people and other animals too, eh? :laugh4:
The vaccine in birds masks symptoms, nothing more. In fact proably aids spread.
Here in London and the UK in general property prices are bloody high, and the amount oul people get spent on then is shocking. Decimation at the very least will mean I can buy a house and the NHS will in the medium term have a greatly reduced work load.
~:smoking:
I have the ducktape and plastic wrap all ready for when the terrorists bomb us with bird flu dirty bombs. I even have the broom closet all nice and cleared out. Now all that needs to be done is constant training, to be able to seal that closet off in less then 10 minutes. Hmmm I also need some tinfoil hats incase the alliens invade while the bird flu is sweeping through.
yesdachi
03-08-2006, 15:13
I completely trust that my government will take care of everything...:sweatdrop:
No.
And I had chicken today. It was lovely. ~:)
Gah! The bird fly hype has not yet entered my household. It may be dangerous, it may not. It may mutate, it may not. At the moment though, it's low on the radar of things that might kill me. Tops of the list is my driving.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
solypsist
03-08-2006, 17:03
my "family" is just me. and i am healthy as a horse. no worries on my end.
Devastatin Dave
03-08-2006, 18:34
no worries on my end.
Oh man, I've got a great snide remark but I like you too much soly, I must resist!!!:laugh4:
solypsist
03-08-2006, 18:49
argh - you dont need to say it, i understood it loud and clear. ~:mecry:
Oh man, I've got a great snide remark but I like you too much soly, I must resist!!!:laugh4:
Call me when there's a successful human-to-human transmission. Until that's confirmed, into the Gah! pool with the whole issue.
Gah!
Kill the bastards and eat them... Death to the chickens, ducks and others... Kill them before they kill us.:laugh4:
Ianofsmeg16
03-08-2006, 21:52
Nothing, nothing ever comes here anyway.
Mad cows do you say?
Foot and what disease?
Bird who?
I'll sit here and watch as you all die horrible deaths!
Or, more likely, I'll laugh at the people who have used lots of money preparing for it.
Duke Malcolm
03-08-2006, 22:12
Nothing, nothing ever comes here anyway.
Mad cows do you say?
Foot and what disease?
Bird who?
Well, my family have made arrangements to go to the hills or a nice remote island...
Well my family is working on a cure....
:| Seriously, "what is your family doing", what do you expect lol....nothing we can do other than sit tight.
Papewaio
03-08-2006, 22:26
The bird flu yet has to be global. The only cases of humans dieing could have been avoided with proper cooking and hygeine practices followed.
Then it has to mutate to a human to human version... and it won't mutate all over the world to the same version. And in the human to human version it may be more or less deadly... if it is less deadly it may in fact trigger the immune system to create antibodies that would fight off the bird to human variant... could, could, maybe... at this stage it is speculation.
And if it does mutate it will start at a spot and spread. It will not mutate simultaneously across the globe.
So first it has to mutate to a version that has a vector of human to human and then that variant has to spread around the globe.
Ianofsmeg16
03-09-2006, 00:02
Well, my family have made arrangements to go to the hills or a nice remote island...
We'd welcome you, we could plan world domination..er...politics, over lunch on Port Erin Beach....
...While plotting world domination
Well if anyone dies of chicken flu then I'll probably just laugh at them
:DHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Divinus Arma
03-09-2006, 00:47
This poll seems to be going as I thought it might.
I personally have little preparations for any kind of emergency, let alone bird flu.
I'm the guy voted for "have a list". I think it is important to have a general emergency kit. Not necessarily for bird flu, but just for general emergency use of any kind.
The need for an emergency kit will arise not from the flu itself, but from the natural panis that would set in with any pandemic with a 10%+ mortality rate.
I realize there are far more important things to worry about, and I agree.
But relaize this: If this really does mutate as the WHO is predicting, the news will report its spread second by second. People will be glued to the TVs, watching illness counts and death counts. Many, many people will simply refuse to go to work for at least a week as soon as it shows up in their state or other provincial area.
When or if it mutates, it will be non-stop coverage on the news. People will be talking about it nonstop including on this board.
When it hits your region, traffic will be light as people decide to stay home. Many may choose to flee to rural areas if they have relatives there.
When it hits your city, traffic will be sparce. Emergency and police services will be everywhere watching for opportunitists. Many regular businesses will be closed and all of this because of PARANOIA. The government will encourage everyone to keep on with their daily lives.
Then, depending on how bad the mortality rate is, things will get better or worse. Plan for many foods, water, and medicines to be on short supply.
Of course, this is all with just a 10% mortality. If it hits anywhere at 20% or higher, then we are so screwed. Prepare for military enforcement, rationing of goods, and great shortages.
If it hits 50% (the current mortality rate, but lacking good medical care), then the world will go back in time 100 years. Arm yourselves.
But I agree with the majority, it will probably just blow over. I'm more worried about my pregnant wife barfing constantly in her first trimester!:2thumbsup:
Yes I have prepared for the worst. :idea2:
I have collected 200 porn movies just in case something happens.
Don't wanna be without porn during a major disaster.:hide:
Kanamori
03-09-2006, 02:07
When it hits your region, traffic will be light as people decide to stay home. Many may choose to flee to rural areas if they have relatives there.
When it hits your city, traffic will be sparce. Emergency and police services will be everywhere watching for opportunitists. Many regular businesses will be closed and all of this because of PARANOIA. The government will encourage everyone to keep on with their daily lives.
Then, depending on how bad the mortality rate is, things will get better or worse. Plan for many foods, water, and medicines to be on short supply.
Of course, this is all with just a 10% mortality. If it hits anywhere at 20% or higher, then we are so screwed. Prepare for military enforcement, rationing of goods, and great shortages.
If it hits 50% (the current mortality rate, but lacking good medical care), then the world will go back in time 100 years. Arm yourselves.
You should sell this as the basis of one of those disaster books!:2thumbsup: Two guys vying for power the whole way through and at the end their on brink of apocalypse!
Papewaio
03-09-2006, 02:17
USA population
July 1, 1943 136,739,353
July 1, 1999 272,690,813
So that is back 50 years if the population halved... and considering the US has a relatively slow population growth if we halved the worlds population the world would not fall back to its level of 50 years ago... maybe just 30 years ago.
As for infrastructure and services... sure we lose half the people who support the infrastructure and services... but we also lose half the users... and keep all the tech gains, roads, buildings etc.
So I don't think we would fall back 50 years, or 30 years, maybe 10.
I think there is some sort of link between the black plague and the Renaissance...
KukriKhan
03-09-2006, 02:42
That's an interesting (and convincing) bit of number-crunching there, Brother Pape - you... you... scientist, you! :laugh4:
Seriously though, bug-out kits are a good idea wherever you live, and they're not hard to assemble (just annoying to maintain). In my neck of the woods, the most likely natural disasters are brushfires & earthquakes. The only trick is in guessing what you might need on day 2 through 10, because as the Tsunami and Katrina have taught: help may not arrive for a week or more, no matter where you live.
We have declared Mormons registered here... maybe they can shed some light on their 1-year supply of survival gear, replenished yearly (I think... I confess ignorance on the details)?
Soulforged
03-09-2006, 03:13
Not really the place where I live is pretty much a quiet and boring neighbor (well except for some parties at night :2thumbsup: ). In general Buenos Aires is not used to natural disasters so we don't really care, this could be bad, but that's how things are down here.
KukriKhan
03-09-2006, 04:13
Floods never happen in your neighborhood? (note: link is a .pdf file)
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2003/09/pdf/freeman.pdf
Buenos Aires has indeed been blessed of late. I caution against complacency, though.
Divinus Arma
03-09-2006, 05:08
You should sell this as the basis of one of those disaster books!:2thumbsup: Two guys vying for power the whole way through and at the end their on brink of apocalypse!
Actually, I am a bit of writer. I am working on a manuscript for my first book.
The plot centers around a high school teacher who is falsely accused of molestation. It closely parallels the need for african-american males to reasset themselves in the lives of their families. The plot doesn't give this away; it's more of a social reference point.
Here's a couple blurbs:
And so when the school administrator and an entourage of his staff entered the room in a fluster, the stillness and paleness of it all became intensely magnified for one last moment before being ruptured.
Administrator Johnson stood before the class, looking down on their young faces and soaking in the sheer magnitude of the responsibility he was now faced with. He stood silently at first, acutely aware of his own urge to remain silent, before reaching into the lining of his jacket, where he pulled out a faded burgundy handkerchief. He dabbed his forehead and then used the material to stroke back the remaining hair of his receding widow’s peak. He replaced the handkerchief, soaked with sweat, and looked to his staff waiting in a tight group near the door. Mr. Johnson wasn’t a heavy man, and the Tennessee weather was actually quite mild. He cleared his throat.
It was October. The warm summer still lingered, but the air had changed. A wind, a change of color in the trees, something. It happened every year and Daniel Nally loved it. It was as if everything natural changed form just a bit. The sense of that first change before autumn, there really was something unique in it. And this was the first day that he sensed it in this year.
His step quickened, and he lifted his face to the breeze, soaking in the first day of the change in seasons. Daniel could already imagine the Tennessee winds whisking red and yellow leaves across the sidewalk and through downtown. He felt thankful to have such senses to bring the most remote natural changes to a level that he could experience. The sun was three hours high, and puffy white cotton clouds could be seen, seemingly hugging the very stratosphere, ready to swim off beyond the atmosphere itself. He reached the steps of Addie Historical High School.
The heavy oak doors slammed in the background. Abramoff Billings, the rocking chair salesman, felt pangs of shame and embarrassment rush through his blood almost instantaneously. Just an observer, he slinked to an empty seat and away from the entryway as quickly and as quietly as possible. Amazingly, the disturbance barely registered in the courtroom audience. For them, it seemed almost divine accoutrement- uniform ambiance to the proceedings.
“Let the record show…”
Outside, the first signs of autumn had begun again. Late September, and the change had come early. A light wind rustled through aging leaves and the aura of a light rain hung in the air, more a feeling than a scent.
WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?
Divinus Arma
03-09-2006, 05:17
Erm, probably not the best thread and WAY off topic for that.
BTW, even I see a bunch of stuff that needs to be fixed. It is a first draft- free flow mode. I just type away and I miss things like duplication of adjectives, adverbs within a paragraph. I just fix grammar and spelling at this stage. I'll go back and fix alot of it later....
Man. The out-of-context selections really aren't done justice without the whole character development and style choices which create the necessary anticipation...
Divinus Arma
03-09-2006, 07:00
Boy. that bad? Jeeze. I'll let you guys know when I'm done and you can read it then. :no:
It was pretty good DA. Though I must admit seeing as Pamela Anderson's book became a bestseller I must know very little about what makes a book good. Wow and pretty random samples also.
Administrator Johnson stood before the class, looking down on their young faces and soaking in the sheer magnitude of the responsibility he was now faced with. He stood silently at first, acutely aware of his own urge to remain silent, before reaching into the lining of his jacket, where he pulled out a faded burgundy handkerchief. He dabbed his forehead and then used the material to stroke back the remaining hair of his receding widow’s peak. He replaced the handkerchief, soaked with sweat, and looked to his staff waiting in a tight group near the door. Mr. Johnson wasn’t a heavy man, and the Tennessee weather was actually quite mild. He cleared his throat.
You use "He" alot to start the sentences there, kinda gets irritating after a bit.
Byzantine Mercenary
03-09-2006, 18:10
im afraid im no judge of literary merit (although i should be) but i will say that getting a book published for the first time is very hard and time consuming good luck with it :2thumbsup:
No emergency plan what so ever.
We did had to kill our four chickens because of the "isolation law"
Where the hell am I going to put four chickens?
Surely not in my bedroom.
So grandpa came over and chopped those poor defenceless chickens heads off.
Actually it was kind off fascinating.
Boy did those gal's turned in to a great soup!:2thumbsup:
If it spreads to a nearby location, we might kill off our cats. Not my decision though.
Btw, my great grandfather died during the previous bird flu pandemic. :hide:
rory_20_uk
03-09-2006, 21:38
And following on from Pape's figures, one has to consider who dies: the old, ill, young and poor are generally the first to go, which being very cruel has the smallest effect on the planet.
The Tsunami killed thousands, but as none of them were "important" in a helps-produce-GDP sort of way the world barely wobbled. Ditto the earthquake in pakistan. How are those guys doing? Did they survive the winter? I've seen nothing of them on the news.
It would have to be very bad very quickly to take that many years off the planet. The West has infrastructure to assist in many; after all I imagine many in the last bird flu were also killed by the secondary infections that took advantage of a weakened host.
Parts of the world with AIDS may get an unexpected boon as teh numbers who are affected decrease sharply, and may help us get a handle on that disease.
~:smoking:
Byzantine Mercenary
03-09-2006, 22:51
And following on from Pape's figures, one has to consider who dies: the old, ill, young and poor are generally the first to go, which being very cruel has the smallest effect on the planet.
The Tsunami killed thousands, but as none of them were "important" in a helps-produce-GDP sort of way the world barely wobbled. Ditto the earthquake in pakistan. How are those guys doing? Did they survive the winter? I've seen nothing of them on the news.
It would have to be very bad very quickly to take that many years off the planet. The West has infrastructure to assist in many; after all I imagine many in the last bird flu were also killed by the secondary infections that took advantage of a weakened host.
Parts of the world with AIDS may get an unexpected boon as teh numbers who are affected decrease sharply, and may help us get a handle on that disease.
~:smoking:
well aparently you build up resistance to viruses like bird flu through your life as you fight off similar but less harmfull bugs knocking around, so older people may have an advantage in one way if and its a damn big if, an epidemic comes
rory_20_uk
03-09-2006, 23:52
Not so. E.g. Flu "vaccines" only operate against the most common isotype that is prevalent that year; resistance is also not lifelong and is only present for a short duration of time.
Examples of this can be seen such as "fresher's Flu" where freshers at university gain flu like illnesses as they mingle from different areas of the country - and these are generally young and fit people. The elders can not mount an effective defence even if they have resistance which is merely the prior experience of the pathogen.
Also I would say that for a pandemic to take hold it must be that resistance is not present in the populace.
~:smoking:
Byzantine Mercenary
03-10-2006, 00:00
Not so. E.g. Flu "vaccines" only operate against the most common isotype that is prevalent that year; resistance is also not lifelong and is only present for a short duration of time.
Examples of this can be seen such as "fresher's Flu" where freshers at university gain flu like illnesses as they mingle from different areas of the country - and these are generally young and fit people. The elders can not mount an effective defence even if they have resistance which is merely the prior experience of the pathogen.
Also I would say that for a pandemic to take hold it must be that resistance is not present in the populace.
~:smoking:
Originally i thought this too, but the old spanich flu virus which could be very similar to any eventual pandemic is already though to be knocking about and the only reason its not as viralent as it was is that we have built up a natural resistance to it isn't it?
vBulletin® v3.7.1, Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.