about the bird flu......

how many of you would work if we had the bird flu pandemic? i asked this question to several nurses and most said no way. they are staying home with their families. i get that, but i asked if they would seek medical care and would they expect equipment,supplies and medical staff to care for them? i honestly do not know what i would do. i hope i never have to decide.

also, i have heard that pregnant women have a 50% mortality if they contract the bird flu.

i think if the bird flu hit in the manner that is expected, a whole lot of prayers would be said. i'm not sure what i would do but i know what my job is and where i would belong. i have children, and i can say if something was to happen to them i would pray and hope that there was someone at a hospital to look after them. just the same as if it were my parents or husband. i know it is easy to say that now because there is no epidemic happening but honestly if it is as bad as they say then staying at home isn't going to help, not much will.

My grandmother had this supposed flu (according to my mother) in 1918. She was very young and she did survive but was very ill. I do not know what the differences are. I was told that she had the influenza that took so many lives in 1918. I wonder if the bird flu is stronger than that particular case of influenza. I have read it is alot like the 1918 flu. I need to do some more research.

if i remember correct about the 1918 influenza outbreak it was a shock to many as it hit young adults.... those with great immune systems..... and kind of left children and the elderly alone.

According to an expert from the CDC , if most people stay home and are not at work then many systems we all depend on will be disrupted. Examples he used included no clean drinking water, no electricity, and limited medical staff to care for the ill. Also, he suggested that the vaccine (which does not exist) should be for medical workers first, so they will show up to care for the sick.

Here's the official government site for the bird flu:

http://www.pandemicflu.gov/

and the CDC site:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/

here's the planning page for health care providers:

http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/tab6.html

here are some assumptions they are working on, based on the 1918 pandemic:

http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/pandplan.html

My grandmother had this supposed flu (according to my mother) in 1918. She was very young and she did survive but was very ill. I do not know what the differences are. I was told that she had the influenza that took so many lives in 1918. I wonder if the bird flu is stronger than that particular case of influenza. I have read it is alot like the 1918 flu. I need to do some more research.

"The Great Influenza" By John M. Barry describes it well. Those with the stronger immune systems died,... interesting. This book also describes the beginnings of modern medicine financed if anyone is interested, by the Rockefellers (who, themselves used Homeopathy as did and to this day, does, the British Royal Family, House of Windsor).

The bottom line is, how strong is your immune system? Are you willing to

do research to find out how to strengthen it, or will you just rely on what public agencies tell you to do, after the fact? Who is really responsible for taking care of you?

I read a book about the 1918 flu and it is really fascinating for sure. It really makes no sense...people dying within hours of it, the young, etc. Of course this was 1918 and not 2006 so maybe we can't compare?....I really don't know.

I think part of the theory that they have figured out is there was a mild (normal) flu that went around earlier that year and they think the people who caught the mild/normal flu basically were immune to the "1918" flu. Which makes you wonder if avoiding the flu each year with a flu shot is really a good idea in the long run?

Would I go to work? I guess I can't be sure.

But if you haven't read about the 1918 flu you really should because it's shocking what happened and no one really knows or talks about it!! People laying in their houses dead, people shutting themselves in because of fear, finding children in the house with parents who have been dead for a week, people dying within HOURS of contracting this flu, whole villages being wiped out, etc. It's really quite horrifying.

"The Great Influenza" By John M. Barry describes it well.

or will you just rely on what public agencies tell you to do, after the fact? Who is really responsible for taking care of you?

I'll have to read that one!

I agree with your post. After the fact (if this is not just a bunch of hype that is) will be too late.

I also agree. We sure cannot depend on our government to protect and inform us. They have already proven that. They cannot even manage fema. I would not be concerned except that I have children and their lives are far more important than my own (except I would like to be there to be their mother!). However, we must all moniter this situation and not depend on our government, because by then it will be too late. I think I am going to do some reading on this.

Does any one remember the recent the anthrax attack that occured shortly after 911? Do you remember how the CDC rushed in to protect the rich and the powerful and left the postal workers and John Q. public to die? I remember and that is why I don't trust the CDC. However, I will listen closely to what my local health dept. has to say because it has always been more concerned about the public than politics. Do you realize that in the past powerful economic and political forces have influenced what the CDC has told the public. It is not unusual for it to alter it's stance on issues based what the current party in power feels is good for us to hear.

A previous poster mentioned boosting your immune system in preperation. Ironically, the stronger your immune system, the more likely you are to have a bad outcome with avian flu. It's similar to the flu of 1918. Grandparents and grandchildren buried the generation in between. Those with the strongest immune systems were the most likely to die. This is because with Avian flu and the 1918 flu, the viruses prompt an immune response with a flood of chemicals in the lungs called a cytokine storm. You literally drown in your own lungs. The young and old tend to fare better because their immune systems aren't robust enough to mount the cytokine storm attack and flood the lungs. Ironic isn't it? Researchers have hypothesized that prednisone may be helpful if given right away to 'turn down' the immune system and reduce the cytokine storm.

Of course the young and old with lesser immune response are more vulnerable to secondary infections after the initial flu infection. Still, statistically speaking, those with the strongest immune systems are the most likely to die. This is what happened in 1918, and what researchers say will happen with H5N1 Avian flu.