Is Tampa Bay ready for bird flu? Are you?
I’m curious. How many of you are actually making preparations in case of a bird flu pandemic? We in Florida are used to preparing for the tragedy that may or may not arrive (hurricanes, of course). Should we also be stocking up even when it’s not hurricane season in case the bird flu threat materializes? Or is it just the latest media fad?
I’m very curious what others in Tampa are doing (or not) in case we are faced with several weeks of a very deadly flu epidemic. My Girlie already suffers from a reactive airway disorder so any flu, bird, swine or other makes me nervous. I confess that the second we find out that bird flu can transmit easily from person to person, I’m checking her right out of school. And I’ll put my world travel on hold. But have I prepared? Not really. My larder isn’t full and I don’t have a bunch of bottled water on hand.
So you tell me, should I?
John
4 years ago
I’m waiting for the sky to fall and sitting back with indifference while watching beauracracy dictate how “prepare” the federal, state and local governments are…
It’s sort of like the Y2K bug or a terrorist attack: It MAY happen, it may not happen. If it does, it’s going to shake the world and if it doesn’t – people will fuss that we made something out fo nothing.
kate
4 years ago
I’m skeptical every time I read or see a piece on bird flu that mentions certain medications that certain high-ranking government officials have heavily invested in. (*cough*tamiflu*cough*) I haven’t done a thing to prepare for the bird flu problem. We just wash our hands a lot and stock up on Airborne. Good enough?
Laura - VitaminSea
4 years ago
You raise a good point.
I wonder just how well the hospitals, doctors and pharmacies are equipped to handle a pandemic in Tampa Bay.
As for myself, I haven’t stocked our cabinets yet either. I’m not sure if we need to, at this point. Once it hits, I imagine the stores would look like they do just before a hurricane, with aisles and aisles of foods and supplies completely sold out.
But I’m not sure how long that can last! Jut how long DO we stay inside our homes and hole up like hermits? Is that even plausible in the long run?
Maybe I’ll have to hit Sam’s club first and buy those ten gallon jars of mayo and 6 pound boxes of cereal after all!
Brad
4 years ago
It’s a gamble either way. H5N1 could be another Y2K, with the millions of people who are now preparing for it to strike looking like idiots when it runs its course in birds and then vanishes without ever achieving human to human transmission… or it could begin spreading human-to-human, catching many people off guard.
If you do decide to play it better-safe-than-sorry, this page on the Flu Wiki is a good starting point.
Personally I’m adopting a wait-and-see attitude. If human-to-human transmission does become common, we’ll probably have a matter of days or weeks before it reaches our shores (unless human-to-human transmission starts in the USA). Best have some kind of plan before that happens, even if it’s just a rough idea of what to do.
editengine
4 years ago
I am eating fewer birds, will that help?
Joe
4 years ago
According to the linked article, authorities estimate as many as 19,000 Floridians could die. That’s out of a population of 16-17 million. I suppose the elderly and the sick should take precautions, but I’m not particularly worried.
Bubba
4 years ago
There is NO SUCH THING as the bird flu. It’s a made-up pandemic that has afflicted about 0.000000000000000000001 of the population. More people die from Trauma of the Oprah Book Club
wayne
4 years ago
Check out The Flu Wiki @ http://www.fluwikie.com/