The recent hurricanes Katrina and Rita were powerful reminders of how destructive the forces of nature can be, and how preparing for them can mitigate their consequences. Avian flu, commonly referred to as bird flu, is a powerful force of nature that we must prepare or suffer from potentially devastating health and financial consequences. Avian flu is a viral infectious disease, just like regular seasonal flu, but it can be 70 times more deadly. And because of the nature of the virus, it can be the most deadly for healthy children and adults, and for pregnant women - just like the so-called Spanish flu of 1918-19.
The report of the US National Intelligence Council Project "2020", "Matching the Global Future," named the global pandemic (an epidemic that is worldwide) as the most important threat to the global economy. According to Shigeru Omi, Regional Director of the World Health Organization, "The world is now in the gravest possible danger of a pandemic." And, according to Dr. Robert Webster, a researcher who studied the world history of influenza at the St. Louis Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, "We could go for a global catastrophe." Specialists in infectious diseases have repeatedly warned that this is not a pandemic of avian flu; it is only a question of when.
Judging by the incredible exceptional response of the federal government at all levels to Hurricane Katrina, which symbolizes its incompetence in dealing with major national emergencies, its slow and excellent response to avian flu today and its lack of leadership in this matter - it’s clear that that you cannot count on the government to protect you. You must take the initiative to prepare yourself and your family for the upcoming avian flu pandemic.
To prepare for a pandemic of bird flu, you should turn to four main areas: 1) “social distancing”; 2) goods, including food, 3) personal protective equipment (PPE) and 4) financial preparation. Social distancing affects your life and work situations when a pandemic sets in. Without going to extremes, you want you and your family to be as far away from other people as possible. Avian flu is similar to regular seasonal flu because you are infected by other people, not birds. (Although it would be possible to get a viral infection in birds, it is much more likely that if you get infected, you will introduce the virus to another person, and not to a bird).
The avian flu virus is extremely contagious; it is transmitted, although casual contact with a contagious person (who may have any symptoms during the first 24 hours of infection), by touching contaminated objects and by air. Because of this, you want to stay away from people as much as possible, which means that you need to spend more time at home. Your children will not be at school, they will be at home. If your house is located on the 73rd floor in a residential building in New York, how are you going to avoid other people? You may want to think about an alternative life situation for a few months.
The same principle applies to customizing your work. If you can remotely, this is the best scenario. If you do not distance yourself now, but because of the type of work you do, this may be an opportunity, discuss it with your employer. If you need to continue to work closely with others in your workplace, what can be done there to protect you and others from infection? How can policies and procedures be customized to minimize contact with colleagues or clients? Are there hand washing stations? What are your employer's plans for the upcoming pandemic? Discuss these and related issues with your employer and colleagues.
The second area that needs to be resolved is “goods, including food.” There will be sporadic difficulties with the production or production of goods - because workers around the world will be sick or absent from work. There will also be supply chain disruptions - both because workers will be sick or otherwise absent from work, and also due to regional, national and / or international travel restrictions. These problems will lead to a decrease or unavailability of most or all products to which we have easy access now.
Products such as soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, and often anything you can buy at stores like Wal-Mart will be difficult or impossible to get — for weeks or months at a time. This includes the most important commodity - food. The federal government always pushes us to reserve for three days. This will not be sufficient preparation for the forthcoming deadly bird flu pandemic. The stores are likely to have limited food. In addition, shops are places that you want to avoid, as potentially infectious people may be there. Stock up now so that you have enough goods, including food, for several months.
The third area to address is the so-called personal protective equipment (PPE), which you will have to use depending on the circumstances. PPE includes special face masks, called N95 respirators, which help prevent infection by inhalation of the virus. Remember that bird flu ("bird flu") is a highly contagious disease that can be transmitted through the air. The only way to counter this source of infection is to use N95 special respirators. These are disposable face masks that can be worn for up to eight hours.
N95 masks were a type of masks worn by hospital workers during the severe acute respiratory syndrome pandemic (SARS) in 2003, which damaged a number of cities around the world, including Toronto, Canada. Surgical masks or other common face masks, sometimes used in grinding or painting, etc., are ineffective.
Other items of PPE include disposable latex or vinyl gloves, eye goggles or face masks, gowns impervious to liquids, and sometimes disposable booties or disposable caps. Keep in mind that during a pandemic, most people who become infected should take care of themselves at home and not in overcrowded hospitals. This means that caregivers who care for close homes should be protected from the virus, just like hospital workers working in hospitals. The only way to protect is to wear PPE. (Just washing your hands - the main recommendation of the federal government for guardians at home - will not be enough). As soon as the pandemic begins, the demand for PPE will be huge, and supplies will be available in a very short time — or nonexistent. Buy now or experience the consequences later.
The final area that needs to be addressed before the onset of a bird flu pandemic is personal finance. This is an area in which governments at all levels were dumb. However, preparing your finances to support yourself and your family during (and after) a pandemic may be the most important area of preparation. Although the bird flu virus is deadly, and many of us will get sick, most of us will not die from it, most likely only one-two percent die. The vast majority will live, but under what circumstances?
Think of Hurricane Katrina, where most people survived, but where hundreds of thousands are now homeless and not fully employed or unemployed. Due to the potentially serious local, national, and international economic consequences of the avian flu pandemic, many of us will be financially affected. Companies around the world will not be able to create or distribute products or provide services. There will be layoffs, and some companies will go out of business altogether. At a minimum, people will work without work for several weeks or months. Your child or children, if they have any, will be at home, not in a school or day hospital. Will it make one parent stay home from work to take care of them? How will you pay for rent or mortgage and your bills in these conditions?
In Benjamin, Franklin said: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." When it comes to preparing bird flu, you can make the difference between life and death, how much you and your family are, and whether you can pay your bills, including rent or mortgage. The government will not solve these problems for you. Just like the Smokey Bear admonition: "Only you can prevent forest fires." Only you can assess this situation and do something. Think about it and then do something about it.
