Dear Bob & Julie:
As I will be retiring from the Multnomah County Health Department at then end of June 2009, I want to thank you for great work of informing us and sharing all the pertinent news on the H5N1 and H1N1 with us. It has been a great pleasure being one of recipients to receive your updates and information on emergence of new viruses or diseases, particularly on H5N1 and H1N1. With your great work, the people around the world are better prepared for any pandemic influenza situation. Bruce
Dear Bob and Julie,
Thanks a lot for this network that you have proactively established long before this new Influenza A H1N1 came about. Please keep my mail coming. Your advisory and information updates have been very useful for us here in the office.
My Office, the Office of Governance and Public Policy of the National Security Council, in the Philippines has been closely coordinating with a lot of agencies within our country and with the WHO. So far, we have not been hit by the new strain of virus but we are preparing for the worst. I have been in touch with the Health Emergency Management Staff, Department of Health of our country, and I am keeping my latest updates from your mails and updates. Thanks a lot and more power to your foresight and vision for the healthy and pandemics-prepared world!
I remain very grateful. Lorenzo Clavejo
I have read your articles with enthusiasm and appreciate your careful research and authoritative sources. As a health and safety professional, I agree with your assessment of this new emerging virus is a real threat and one with pandemic potential. In fact, at this point I believe any action taken by governments will have limited results as I think we will be “closing the barn door after the cows are gone.”
In lieu of the high fatality rate experienced in Mexico City hospitals, I would suspect that a large percentage were hospital induced. That is, commonly acceptable practice often spreads the disease among patients already ill or undergoing treatment. This occurs for several weeks before it is known that the virus exists or is being transmitted in blood products or by infected nurses, doctors and cleaning staff as they move about the hospital.
I recently visited a walk-in clinic in Brooks Alberta and observed the following:
1. First I had to open the doors manually on the way in (common contact points)
2. I spoke with the receptionist (no partition) and then proceeded to enter my Alberta Health Care number into the touch screen computer (common contact points)
3. A sign was posted at the reception desk indicating that anyone with a cough should request a mask (it was in English and about half the patients were from Sudan, Ethiopia and other non-English speaking countries.
4. I counted 4 people of concern who continually coughed. None of these were wearing a mask. One person with a terrible rattling cough (he was wearing a mask) did come in and after consulting with the receptionist left immediately. I would put the ailing young man at about 17 years of age. I noticed that the family that accompanied him was well tanned as if they had just returned from vacation. I assume they were sent to emergency.
5. All the while, several young children scurried about the waiting room. I noticed three occasions where they picked up magazines and shared them back and forth, placed the corners of them in their mouths. These were magazines that were set down by those who were coughing.
6. When I was finally attended to, the doctor came in and shook my hand.
7. I opened his office door touching the handle on the way out and did not notice any hand sanitizer when leaving the building. I had some in my vehicle when I got out to the parking lot but by then I felt like swimming in the stuff.
Frankly, I think we will all get this thing eventually because our medical centres are poorly designed and staff have no idea how many opportunities exist for transmission. I stopped at the Home Hardware store on my way home. The checkout girl was coughing continuously. She said to me when I looked at her with concern “Don’t worry, it’s not the Swine Flu”, then said “Oh I forgot, I’m not supposed to say that.” Obviously she had discussed this illness with her employer and had been encouraged to stay at work. I replied “Don’t worry, soon we will all have it”.
Anyway, all the pandemic preparedness in the world will have little or no effect when there are so many stupid and selfish people.
Please keep publishing your articles. We need all the help we can get!
Hi Bob & Julie,
I have been receiving your pandemic news articles for a couple of months now, you are doing a wonderful job in disseminating this vital information.
Even if it saves one life.... that saying may be a cliché, but if/when the pandemic strikes, you can hold your heads high and be sure that your work will have saved many lives.
I try to bring awareness to my family and work colleagues of this issue, apathy is hard to dislodge, but I vow to keep being extremely vocal about this business!
I mean, how could I look my family in the eye, with the knowledge I have now, if a pandemic struck, and say I did nothing to prepare?
Thanks again,
Russell
Hi Bob and Julie
I wondered if you had formed a view or got more information about Vira 38 yet? It seems to be readily available and, if as valid as tamiflu, could be of use to people looking for protection. If Vira 38 is deemed to be of no use re Bird Flu, I need to get my family something else before it all runs out!
Thanks
John M.
Hi Bob & Julie,
I hope I am responding to the right address. Thank you for all the information you provide to your subscribers.
I am just curious, what do you know about "Vira 38" made by PRB and Lee Pharmaceuticals? I have seen headlines and other information suggesting Vira 38 may be helpful as a preventative and treatment measure for bird flu because of its antiviral qualities.
Just wondering whether you have any thoughts on this.
Also, I have seen some information that suggests N-95 masks are not sufficient protection against the bird-flu and that Nano-masks are the only masks effective, (and I'm going on memory in this description) because they "strain out" smaller particles/germs. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks,
Heather P.
We'd be very cautious with respect to Vira 38. See the following link: http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/g5628d.htm
The claims by nanomask that N95 masks are ineffective are based on a misunderstanding of how the virus is spread. Theoretically the N95 masks shouldn't be able to stop an N95 virus because they are smaller than the pore size of the mask. However the virus always comes attached to moisture droplets, which in themselves, are larger than the pores of the mask. This is why the N95 masks were so effective in protecting health workers during the SARS crisis.
Having said that, however, if the virus is airborne and is floating around freely - ie, not attached to moisture droplets, the nanomask might be a good mask to have. We have a supply on hand, as well as the Triosyn (another anti-viral coated mask) and we also have a supply of the Alpha Pro Techs. If we have to go into an area where we know the risk is high we'll wear the Nanomask or the Triosyn. But for quick 'in and out' shopping we feel more than comfortable with the Alpha Pro Techs, and they're cheap enough that we'll just discard them after use.
The most important thing about the mask is the fit and the Alpha Pro Tech gives the best fit of any of the masks that we've found so far. Many people have complained that they can't get a good fit with the Nanomasks.
Hi,
I'm a recipient of your survival letters. Just wanted you folks to know that I'm grateful for any and all information that you may want to pass on. I thought I'd let you know that some of the people I tell think I'm a little crazy; I liken it to telling people about the Bible and Revelations last chapter. However, I think you folks are on to something big, and you can never be too prepared.
Thanks Again,
Sincerely,
Tracy P.
Dear Bob and Julie,
May I comment on something that I found confusing from your survival site vs a report by Sunjay Gupta on CNN. You are advising people to build up their immunity and frankly that certainly would seem to make a great deal of common sense.
However, Dr. Gupta said that this particular pandemic, if it follows the patterns of the 1918 disaster, would likely attack the young and healthy rather than children and the elderly. He said that in fact it is a healthy immune system's reaction to the virus that causes death and weaker systems seem to survive.
I just wondered if you had a comment on that.
Keep up the good work and thanks,
Maurice P.
Maurice...
That's a great question and poses quite a dilemma. Should health officials start advising people to try to lower their immune system? What would be the consequence? Possibly many more deaths from other illnesses and diseases? And supposing the pandemic never materialized?
Of course at this point nobody knows whether this particular strain will follow the same pattern as the 1918 pandemic.
The approach that we are taking in our family is to try to stay as healthy as possible, but our main line of defence is to stay far away from anyone who might be carrying the virus.
Bob and Julie
Thank you, I have been telling my family to get ready for the bird flu but they think that the Australian gov will stop it before entering the country. We live in Australia and I am very worried about my children because of the bird flu. they are 5, 3, and I am about to have another one in december. Yours is the first web sight that I have come across that actually gives me a good idea on the things that I should be stocking up on. You guys are doing a really good job. Thankyou so much.
from Aisha.
I have also read that official looking hospital type Quarantine signs at
your front door or in your yard would be effective. Looking for a clip art
of it so I could print and laminate. Also a big piece of plywood and spray
paint Intruders will be shot or some other more polite yet frank
warning.
Thanks for your info
Kimber
Good suggestion, Kimber. We've taken your suggestion and have made a quarantine sign that you can print out. You'll find it at http://www.survivetheflu.com/quarantine.jpg.
Dear Bob and Julie.....
Thank you very much for your information. I found it very helpful and it provided me with new information atop the other data I have been accumulating. Keep your data coming and good luck. John Green, an american in korea.......where there are only 600,000 doses of Tamiflu for 40 million people.....;and only little cotton masks....nothing else available here......people haven't even been told to get regular flu shots..yet, we are in the migratory path for birds arriving now from Siberia, Russia, Mongolia and China.....keeping the people's heads in the sand......John
Hi Bob and Julie...
Many thanks for your informative site, I live and
work in the UK, and here, as you rightly say, the press have the story
and are milking it dry....
However...the govt is also starting a public information campaign,
with leaflets about a possible pandemic going out to doctors
surgeries, and if you follow this link you can see copies of
everything they are sending..including the more complex stuff to
health professionals, like slide presentations etc they can use to
bring staff up to speed...
http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/EmergencyPlanning/PandemicFlu/fs/en
I hope this is useful to you....
Kind regards
Ken
Does getting the flu shot vaccine help against the bird flu or not? How much of a difference is there between the two, and the chances of getting
the bird flu? Reason is because I was told to be on the safe side and get the flu shot which I never did in my life.
A concerned person,
Michelle
No, the common flu shot won't protect you against the H5N1 virus. However, most feel it is a good idea for 2 reasons...
1) If you get the normal flu your defences will be weaker and your immune system won't have as much ability to stave off the H5N1 virus should you come into contact with it;
2) If you get the normal flu and subsequently contract the avian flu before it has mutated to human to human contact, the two viruses may mix and produce a deadlier strain which can be spread from human to human.
Please note, however, that we're not medical practitioners and you should always seek professional medical advice from your doctor.
Using Google Alerts, I have been provided with hundreds of avian flu
articles over the past year. I have watched as the virus advances from
country to country and governments claim that it is undecontrol. For
months I have been advising friends and family to become knowledgable
about bird flu and the threat it poses to ourselves and society. I was
aware that they were talking behind my back in my absence. Needless to
say, the news headlines over the past couple of weeks have vindicated me
somewhat. I believe that the concern at the highest levels of
government is greater than we might be led to believe - to avoid panic.
For 18 years I owned a fertilizer dealership in Stettler, Alberta
Because of old "ties" to the industry, I was asked to assist in
marketing a large amount of "off spec" organic sulphur, 94.5% S to be
exact. A friend of mine who raises and sells wild boars to North
America and Europe has for years made every attempt to maintain a "drug
and antibiotic free" status for the animals he sells. The wild boar is
very hardy and has significant natural immunities. The stress of
receiving new younger animals into his farm for feeding would cause them
to contact viruses and pneumonia, resulting in some death loss. My
friend, who understands the science of viruses very well, decided to
feed small quantities of the sulphur to the incoming boars. The results
have been phenomenal.
Sickness has been eliminated and the animals are far healthier.
Another significant change in the herd has been the increase in the
number of piglets born per litter to the sows and gilts. Traditionally
the litters have numbered 4 to 5 piglets. Over the past few months,
sows and gilts receiving sulphur in their drinking water have
consistently given birth to 10 to 12 healthy piglets. AMAZING!
This same friend has, along with another individual personally taken the
sulphur internally and overcome severe debilitating viruses that doctors
could not cure. He has a neighbor who at 93 years of age is still
actively farming. This individual has taken sulphur and molasses as
long as he remembers. In fact, he claims that their entire family
always took daily doses of sulphur and molasses, and according to him,
theirs was the only family in the area who did not bury a family member
as a result of the Spanish Flu. It is our thought that sulphur lowers
the ph of the blood, creating an environment in which viruses attenuate,
providing our own bodies with time needed to develop our own natural
defenses.
I have been thinking of advertising to corporations to assist in the
creation of Bird Flu Emergency Response Plans - I have been waiting and
watching, and no one seems to be picking up the ball and running with
it. Through my very extensive agribusiness network, including 70+
Hutterite colonies, I can provide logistics expertise and store and
supply large amounts of foodstuffs and fresh water for clients.
My planning on behalf of clients would be:
1. Fortify your immune systems through improved diet, supplements and
excersize.
2. Create a thorough emergency response plan that is "practical and
do-able"
3. Plan to survive chaos with supplies and needed equipment in place.
At such time as avian flu mutates and the mutated virus arrives in
Canada, I can assure you that sulphur and molasses will be a daily
regimen for me and my family - just in case there is not enough Tamiflu
to go around.
I guess that I recognize that we have mutual concerns. So I am using
you as a sounding board for my fears and experiences. Thanks for taking
the time to read this.
Regards: Grant McKay
Wescan Marketing
#2, Warwick Dr.
Red Deer, AB T4N 6A9
Phone: 403-318-8483
Fax: 403-770-8088
email: mckayg@telusplanet.net
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