[xrp]

I personally feel (of course, I'm no expert) that this is way overhyped. Sure, it could become human/airborne as the Spanish flu did back in 1918. However, back in 1918, sanitation and the clean living standards that have flourished in the West were still relatively unknown.

Today our food and water supplies are 1000 times better than they were in 1918, not to mention sanitation, medical care and prevention.

In summary, wash your hands frequently (get some of that needs-no-water bacteria killing lotion) and don't step in bird crap!

[Semper Paratus]

If it can get rid of all those year-round geese in my area I say bring it on.

[D.P.Roberts]

I'm all set! I still have that stuff from the last emergency-Y2K!

[pgkdan]

I'm with you...we're not the same country we were in 1918. I don't see this as being the great pandemic of the century as it's being hyped. At least not in the developed world. Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia could have a rough row to hoe though...

[Lexington Green]

I've still got my Swine Flu emergency supplies.

[Physicist]

get some of that needs-no-water bacteria killing lotion

That won't help against a virus like the flu.

[Vaquero]

what the little kiddies use to sing in 1918.


"I HAD A little bird, and its name was Enza,
I opened the window, and in-flew-Enza.”

[dawn53]

I tend to agree. If it didn't kill thousands in Chinese villages and towns, where they are exposed to birds being slaughtered, and the living conditions are crowded and unsanitary...it won't kill thousands here. At least not in its present form.

[JackHawk]

Whatever happened to Sars? I thought we'd all be dead by now from it!

[Gay State Conservative]

If this is spread in the same way as,say,a cold or the "regular" flu then I think improved sanitation wouldn't be much of a factor.Colds,for example,are spread by things like coughing/sneezing and doorknobs ("Bill" sneezes into his hand,opens a door and a few minutes later "Mary" opens that same door and then rubs her eye...an area that contains mucous membranes).

One potentially important difference between 1918 and now is that in 1918 quickly traveling over long distances was impossible and,for that matter,international travel was almost unheard of. Today,1000 people a day (or more) can travel from,say,Bangkok to the US in less than 24 hours.Those people can all be infected but asymptomatic both when they leave Thailand *and* when they arrive in the US.

[OB1kNOb]

It's a no-win situation for the government. In one instance they get crucified for not doing enough, not being timely in their response, in not preparing adequately for a possible disaster (Katrina, levees, you know the rest), and then when they do try to raise awareness of another possible developing disaster (bird flu) they get castigated for creating unnecessary hysteria.

If one wants to see how America will react the first time a bird is confirmed with H5N1, just watch eastern and central Europe now. They're wetting in their pants over there. IMHO I predict America will do the same. - OB1

[w_over_w]

There have been lots of dead birds on three continents, but so far, fewer than 100 reported human deaths. Compare that to more than 30,000 deaths each year in the United States from seasonal flu.

The MSM won't care . . . they'll hype this into another Bush Admn. failure. Wait!!! I know, the Admn. should immediately name Bill Clinton the avian flu preparedness czar. /sarc.

[siunevada]

I'm doomed. There's no storage space under my bed.

[silverleaf]

storing canned tuna and powdered milk under their beds

Did he really say this? Or is this ABC hyperbole?

[elli1]

Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt recommended that Americans start storing canned tuna and powdered milk under their beds...

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.

[redgolum]

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.

[Halls]

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.

[presidio9]

THERE: FIXED.

[verity]

[Post-Neolithic]

The biggest difference now (if you leave out the fact that we can go anywhere in the world in under 24 hours), is that the current H5N1 strain can go unnoticed by it's victim, and those around them, for up to 17 days.

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.

[lesser_satan]

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.