Several time in recent days I've read references to the Asian Avian
Influenza ("A.A. Flu")
having a "less than 50% mortality rate." Clinically, perhaps,
but not
in a
real
world
pandemic! Why?
The 50% figure is based on advanced medical treatment. Because
A.A. flu
is
a respiratory
disease,
therapies that are currently being used to combat the small
outbreaks in Asia this
will not be available at home. (This includes inhalation therapy, anti-bacterial
drugs like Ciprofloxacin ("Cipro")--already in short supply--and
ventilators.) Here is a data point for you: There 105,000 ventilators
installed at U.S.
hospitals, of which at least 70,000 are in use on any given day. In
the event of a pandemic, the hospitals will be jammed. Now who, of
the 20 million to 200 million patients, is going to get the use of
those 35,000 ventilators? And who is going to get any of the few available
doses of Cipro?
Think this through folks, and PREPARE! Since most flus are spread
by person-to-person contact, be prepared to live in isolation for an
extended period of
time, preferably in a rural, agricultural, lightly populated region.
That means a six month supply of storage food and all of the other
requisite logistics. You need to also lay in a supply of antibiotics.
Yes, I know that they are useless against the flu itself (which is
viral),
but
they can be
used to fight co-infections. Try to get some antibiotics
like Cipro for your family, ASAP! (Ask your
friendly local doctor.) Again, they are just for co-infections.
(Pneumonia often accompanies influenza, and lung congestion can be a killer.)
In closing, if you doubt the seriousness of this emerging threat,
then read the World
Health Organization's document that describes the propensity
of influenza viruses toward antigenic shift: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_01_15/en/ You
might also fined the following letters informative...
