Posted on 03/13/2006 7:45:57 AM PST by xrp
March 13, 2006 - In a remarkable speech over the weekend, Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt recommended that Americans start storing canned tuna and powdered milk under their beds as the prospect of a deadly bird flu outbreak approaches the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Assuming that I'm correct (which is far from certain) I think that closing the borders...either generally or to arrivals from certain areas...would only come in response to an established and well document worldwide (or regional) epidemic.
If it's all the same, I prefer keeping foodstuffs in the pantry. However, noting that Leavitt's comments have been paraphrased, I would very much like to read the text of the speech, including Q & A session after the speech. I smell duplicitous reporter.
True enough.But try to convince the 2 billion people in Africa and Asia (and maybe other places) that disagree with you.
One of my daughter's co-workers just got back from China and couldn't believe they didn't have flush toilets -- just holes in the ground! Makes me wonder if they are going to have modern "facilities" built in time for the Olympics for all of the athletes to use!
Another excuse to buy ammo and camping supplies!
But there is some truth to this. At the very least, the poultry industry in this nation stands to take a huge hit. Probably the pork prices as well.
Well, every time i go to the store I stock up on a few extra things, but for any given reason, not just bird flu. I am a better safe than sorry person so I don't mind having a few extra things stored in my garage in a what if situation came true.
However, like SARS, Y2K I am optimistic that we will be fine.
THERE: FIXED.
How many people do you think someone could infect in that amount of time? And how many could the ones they infect, infect? We better hope like there is no tomorrow that it doesn't mutate into a form that easily passes from human to human.
I say easily because there are already confirmed cases of human to human transfers in a few clusters. But experts think they were short lived mutations that did not spread easily. I still have my doubts about the Bahama's fiasco, but that's another story.
My gosh,what did you eat?
Blah, blah, f-'in blah. "Wolf" has been cried far too many times for me to listen to any of these "dire warnings" any more. Y2K, global warming, global cooling, SARS, killer asteroids, yada yada yada. I'm not paying no ten dollar for no stinking flu shot.
The first one, I can do.
I cannot do the second: I sleep up to my neck in bird guano.
It may sound gross, but it keeps my skin lusterous and vital!
Well, the only time we came across a real toilet was in our hotel room. Most places (restaurants, etc.) have porcelain holes in the ground, but the parks, etc., just have trenches that you sort of stradle, and there wasn't a lot of privacy in the restrooms.
Look at the sanitation conditions, and the hospital conditions, of the countries where the disease has jumped to humans.
Do we need to worry about this particular strain of flu? Not likely, IMHO. But, I suppose that all the hysteria will help a little - from what I've read, the US was really underprepared for a disaster of the magnitude that the press was hyping.
And, also IMHO, a significant flu outbreak is a distinct possibility, eventually.
I'm doomed too. my space is full of guns.
Fortunately, I don't have any birds, so no need to stock up on supplies for them.
Yeah, I don't understand why people would need powdered milk for birds either.
LOL .. same here
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.