Bird flu could hit Florida first!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AGENDA21]

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush expects Florida to be among the first bird flu cases if a pandemic spreads to the United States.

In a visit to Florida, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt warned Thursday that bird flu could reach the nation within 30 days - once it starts passing widely from person to person.

Bush predicts Florida would get the first wave.

"We have lots of international air travel. We have cruise ships. We have interaction with the rest of the world the likes of which is quite unique," Bush said. "This is a really high priority for us, maybe more than other states."

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/02/17/State/Bird_flu_could_hit_Fl.shtml

[babylonsister]

1. What a crock; take a page out of that terra notebook. I

have to mention NY/SF/LA/HI/TX, etc., etc., etc.:eyes:

[marmar]

2. Don't worry Jeb...

I don't think it can be passed from birds to pigs, so you're safe.

[Kali]

10. actually, flu does seem to arrise out of a

bird-human-pig interaction but your point is taken

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. And as long as Jeb and the Republicans are in control, we're all dead.

They'll handled this epidemic the same way that his brother handled NOLA.

If this goes from person to person, I hope that idiot will know to put an end to high school sports because the way the kids share the water coolers on the field, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

Anybody know how close this is to going from person to person?

[marmar]

6. True...

I sincerely doubt that BushCo and future Bird Flu Czar Michael Brown would be nearly as proactive as Germany is right now.

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. What is Germany doing?

[marmar]

8. They're more or less nuking every bird north of Berlin...

Here's a link:

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=142423060&p=y4z4z364x

[elehhhhna]

4. oh for chipes sakes. no other places have international airports?

[sandnsea]

5. Most human flu is bird flu

Go look up "avian flu" in Google. Bill Maher was right the other night, most, if not all, human flu is from birds. I don't know what the hysteria is.

[flordehinojos]

9. they are only preparing the masses of people for another one of their

fascist take overs through fear planting.

[Texasgal]

14. You are correct...

There is nothing new about the "bird flu"! :hi:

[SPKrazy]

19. The Hysteria Has Been The Perceived Lethality Of The Virus In It's Avian

form

truth is, no one knows what it will be like when it crosses over to human to human transmission. It could be worse. It could be better.

Also, we don't really know the actual infection rates vs. lethality in Asia since only the sickest ones present themselves for treatment. It is entirely possible that the pool of infected humans is much larger and that the percentage of those who get very sick is only a percentage of the entire pool of infected. And those who die are an even smaller percentage of the entire infected pool of humans.

The only way to find out is to do widespread sampling of areas in Asia that have had outbreaks of bird flu in it's avian variety where humans were infected.

My hunch (and hope) is that the pool of infected is like in the millions, and the death rate is a very small percentage of those infected.

And again, there is no way of knowing what the virus will be like when it becomes human to human ( I say when because it is more likely than not to eventually become transmissable between humans)

[sandnsea]

20. In its human form

we create a vaccine, just like we always have. I remember when the killer bees were going to swarm the US, attack our children, and kill us all. This just sounds like the same kind of summer of sharks hysteria. Flu kills 36,000 in the US every year. It's always been a serious illness, alot more serious than most people realize. Pretending there's some "avian flu" that is radically different than any other flu in history is disingenuous and I don't know why they're doing it.

[SPKrazy]

23. I Don't Know If It Is All Disingenuous

But it isn't a human virus yet either.

I first heard about this long before the Bushies started talking about it.

The concern was the high (50%) lethality among those infected with the bird virus (human infections)

What we don't know is whether it is actually a 50% lethality, or a 50% lethality among those who get really sick. And more importantly whether there are actually a lot of people who have been exposed, and infected who had much less severe symptoms who never sought help. Only a large scale screening of the blood of people in those areas would tell us that.

As for human virus, the hope is that we would have a vaccine. The fear is that the lethality would mirror what it is thought to be in the known cases. Truly there is no direct evidence that it would be, but that is a fear.


We do live just around the corner from some viral epidemic that will be much more devastating than the 36 K that are lost each year to influenza.

I'm not fearmongering, just speaking from what I understand to be true. (Amateur epidemiology enthusiast. Sick hobby, no pun intended)

[Synnical]

11. Oh Yeah, and earlier this month we were told

That we weren't doing enough to prepare for terror attacks.

Floridians lag in preparing for terror event
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pcterror07feb07,0,3288682.story?coll=sfla-news-palm

A random phone survey of 400 Floridians found only 12 respondents, or 3 percent, have a contingency plan, as opposed to about 18 percent nationally.

Most said they didn't care if the Department of Homeland Security's color-code alert was red, yellow or green; women were more likely to be concerned than men; and most respondents said they didn't plan for terrorism because you can't predict an attack.

So, the "Southeast Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Force" created a website MySafeFlorida.org

They suggest we all have the following items on hand:

* Water—at least one gallon per person per day for three days
* Nonperishable food—at least a three- to seven-day supply
* Prescription medicines and their original bottles
* Battery-operated radio
* Blankets and pillows
* Can opener
* Civilian MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat)
* Dust masks
* Extra cash
* Eye protection
* First aid kit
* Flashlight and batteries
* Garbage bags and plastic ties
* Hygiene products
* Identification
* Moist towelettes
* Plastic sheeting and duct tape
* Special supplies for infants including diapers and formula
* Special supplies for pets including pet food and proof of vaccinations
* Toilet paper
* Utility knife
* Work gloves
* Other items specific to your family

The only difference between that list and the list of hurricane supplies, that I see, is the addition of dust masks and plastic sheeting and duct tape!

Terra, terra. Be afraid.

[converted_democrat]

12. This really bothers me.....The way he put it almost sounds like a

"prophecy" of some sort..

[Dem2theMax]

13. Just as long as ol' Jebbies bro is visiting when the first wave hits.

:evilgrin:

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

15. I can see Rummy, drooling over Tamiflu profits...

[Synnical]

16. From the Far East, a lesson in how to beat bird flu

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article346511.ece

With Britain braced for disease's imminent arrival, Vietnam, the world's worst-hit country, is first to defeat it

By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, in Hanoi
Published: 20 February 2006

As avian flu advances across Europe towards the UK, public health experts in the Far East claimed the first significant victory against the H5N1 virus since the current outbreak began two years ago.

Vietnam, the worst affected country in the world with 93 human cases and 42 deaths, has become the first to successfully contain the disease that threatens to become a global human pandemic, according to the World Health Organisation.

No new cases of avian flu have been reported in humans in Vietnam since last November and in birds since last December, Hans Troedsson, director of the WHO in Hanoi said.

Vietnam's breakthrough in containing the disease comes as the worldwide outbreak was confirmed in India, France and Iran for the first time. India said it was testing dozens of people for the lethal strain after 50,000 birds died in western Maharashtra state. In France, wild ducks found dead near Lyon were confirmed with H5N1. Authorities in Bulgaria put a man in an isolation chamber yesterday and were testing him for bird flu after two of his ducks died.

[demigoddess]

17. You only have to worry if you sleep and live in the same building as your

chickens and ducks or swans. That seems to be the problem in other countries.
I do not believe in any flu anyway. My siblings and I and later my children have never had the flu. We just never got it. And I remember the swine flu pandemic of the 70's. Why is it always a republican regime who yells the sky is falling over a flu virus?

[FearofFutility]

18. A link for all

Facts about avian flu from World Health Organization. This really isn't a joke. If it mutates making human to human transmission possible, it isn't going to be a laughing matter.

[hopeisaplace]

21. Don't hire him as a PR Rep for the TOURISM Industry...gheesh

going for broke? :crazy: :crazy:

[Blue_In_AK]

22. Oh, well, that's good (apologies to Floridians)...

I thought Alaska would get it first because of the migrating birds. I feel safe now. :sarcasm:

[knitter4democracy]

24. ?????

That doesn't make much sense, actually. We don't know where the vector patient would come from, as the virus is spreading outside of China, and we don't know where they would go. We do know that the human-to-human transmission isn't very good yet, so we still have time to beat H5N1.

Why is he making such a ballyhoo of it, though? Every state should be working on this, and the CDC should be coordinating with everyone from the primary care docs on up. Florida is no more likely to get hit than California.