Posted on 05/09/2006 4:51:12 PM PDT by Momaw Nadon
Thought it was good. It depicted a worst case scenario. The message was clear; you need to prepare and be able to care for yourself in times of crisis. Am surprised at how many people arent taking this seriously.
You are right there is the possibility of it mutating into a human to human form in Asia, and most likely that would be where the mutation would take place.
I guess that was my point, here in the US OUR commercial poultry industry is what, I believe, will keep it from becoming a human to human strain.
I'll give you an example of how serious these people can get about protecting their flocks. Recently someone suggested that in addition to the produce stand I am openning this summer I should consider getting some laying hens and sell fresh eggs. Because I have no intentions of dealing with chickens (or any livestock for that matter) I jokingly mentioned it to my friend (the one whose husband manages the chicken houses) and she didn't take it as a joke. She told me in no uncertain terms that as much as she hated saying it, if I did that her daughter could no longer come play here with mine and vice versa. The posibility of backyard chicken contamination was far too great.
I am no expert on this issue, nor on the poultry industry, my opinions and comments are based upon what I have learned from 23 years of observation of the poultry industry where I live and how they react to bird flu.
I became interested in the whole thing when, as a 23 year old reporter in Delaware, I was given an assignment to do a story on the poultry industry.....I'm long out of the news business, but I still live in this region.
Good grief I turned it off about an hour into it.
Bird Flu in America?
I prefer Trout Fishing in America.
http://www.troutmusic.com/
I hope that younger kids aren't having nightmares. Remember how scared many people were when the TV film The Day After came out in 1983? IMDB has this bit of trivia
ABC set up special 1-800 hotlines to calm people down during and after the original airing.
I swear they had too commercials touting their own network specials coming up...at 9:40 they cut and didn't come back for 5 MINUTES.
Yup. Just one aspect: Look in your recipe book and see how many require eggs.
Just so you know, I am brooding some baby chicks right now. BUT! My birds will be under cover, roofed, kept healthy and clean, so that I can have fresh eggs.
I really worry more about the commercial poultry farms than backyard chicken contamination. People should worry more about the way chickens are treated in these mass coops than those in properly designed (from a chicken's point of view) backyard coops, with hens having covered runs.
It may be the backyard farms that saves the entire poultry industry. But we will not know until H5N1 hits here in the US.
I had turned it off long before 9:40
It just reminded me again why I rarely watch TV anymore....unless it is the Travel Channel
More power to you raising your own for eggs, I have several friends doing the same - just not in these parts.
I really don't give a hoot about a chicken's point of view of how it was raised when it comes out of my oven, or fryer, or off the grill. I'm a lot more concerned about the ignoramouses that dcide to "raise" chickens in an area that is prevalent for migratory birds and resident foul that come in contact with such.
Worry all you wish about the plight of the commercially grown chickens while raising your laying hens - but please, while you are enjoying your fresh laid eggs, be due diligent on sanitation of yourself, your clothes and shoes, and your vehicles when you shop for feed and supplies so as not to endanger the flocks of others like yourself or my friends in commercial growing.
Backyard farmers will be the first to know about the problem and hopefully will take the proper precautions and notify the proper authorities when their birds start dying.
Check out the series of articles at www.delawareonline.com on Avian Influenza/Bird Flu. There is an excellent article there about backyard farmers eing the first line of defense. It's a Gannett paper so I can't direct link to the article. Freepmail me in the morning if you can't find it.
Thanks for your comments.
One thing I would like to make clear: I am stopping participating in any meaningful way on these Avian Flu threads. There have been too many times some Emergency Management cowboys (why is it always MEN?) will make fun of my social status (retired nurse) and ask me where I got my freaking microbiology degree, when I try to share serious knowledge I've learned from hours of reading with other posters who have done the same.
Furthermore, these cowboys can't take sarcasm, they dish out name-calling and don't seem to be able to handle it back without whining, they insult anyone who disagrees with them, and they make it about their Cartmanesque "authoritah." There are many of these posters on these threads, as all the regulars know, and their disruption makes it impossible to discuss real risks in a meaningful way.
As many of you know, this happened on a fairly serious thread last Sunday. It was NOT fun for me. I don't like it. That kind of flame response to a serious issue that could indeed affect us all is NOT worthy of Free Republic. I had my words twisted and thrown in my face, and I'm finished with that.
Furthermore, I'm not immune to being drawn into flame wars--it's not difficult to push my buttons. There is a lot on my personal plate right now that I'm taking care of--so my finger is often on the posting trigger, and if somebody wants to get my goat, they likely can without too much fuss.
My deepest regret is that no honest discussion of H5N1 can take place without these disruptors who seem to know it all, even as they dismiss a threat they clearly have not explored.
Just a review: Y2K was averted by a lot of expensive toil by a lot of committed people. The fact that it didn't happen doesn't mean it wasn't a risk.
SARS cost billions. Toronto's experience should be a cautionary tale for the entire world. We (the US) simply lucked out, and for that, I am grateful to God. Anyone who thinks it wasn't a huge concern in the US didn't work in the health care industry. And SARS is a coronavirus (like the common cold viruses) on steroids. It could return.
H5N1--a lot of people who think they know it all have read a few FAQs and look no further. They are exactly like the folks in NO who thought they had all the time in the world to deal with a remote possibility of levee failure. Those people, who frequently disrupt H5N1 threads with their little bit of knowledge and a big star on their chest, think it is their sworn duty to interrupt those serious discussions in any way possible.
Frequently, because I have been, in the past, a prominent poster on potential threats to American health, those very same people will decide that if they can shut me up, prove me wrong, make me mad, and push me enough, they'll somehow win some freaking prize.
Well--fine. They win. This is my Avian Flu opus. I am off the threads. Let the ignorant prevail--I hope they're right and I'm wrong.
Now, I'm saying I'll never post another Avian Flu article. I don't care if Free Republic posters are ignorant, any more. I won't participate in the threads, because the disruptors have decided that since I am nothing more than a retired nurse, I don't have the credentials to comment or make observations about their positions without getting hammered. And these are people with NO medical experience or training.
Please don't ping me to any more of this. Look at the first part of this thread, and the stupid jokes! There are other places to go than FR for serious information on Avian Influenza, and that's where I'll be.
FR is a great place, but not for any serious discussion of emerging diseases or threats to national health. I'm sticking to the other threads.
Good night.
Went there, found it.... that one guy lets his birds free range and mix with the wild birds... not a good plan, in my humble opinion...
Here is my "Chicken Tractor"... used with a better roof, for protection from overhead bird poop...
http://www.omlet.us/homepage/homepage.php
Long, but interesting read about how viruses in humans.
http://www.brojon.org/frontpage/SARSFEVER.html
Oops.
s/b "Long, but interesting, read about how viruses replicate in humans. "
As I said, more power to you.....far too many don't take precaustion in the manner you say you are.
So my opinion remains the same, the backyard chicken growers will be more of the cause of the problem than the commercial growers.
JA, you came out smelling like a rose, believe me.
I took some shots too but spent much more time laughing than weeping.
We be looking for you on other forums.
Thanks for your leadership here.
P.S. I don't think the movie is too bad after 45 minutes on the west coast.
i have not seen anything on the incubation period of the current manifestations of bird flu in humans, but as you note, air travel and a decent incubation period in a H2H virus is going to be a major problem.
Why has Ken Alibek fallen off the radar screen? I saw him quoted a couple of days ago in an article on WND, it was the FIRST time he's made a "public appearance" (to my knowledge) in several years.
Used to be he was "in the news" regularly, if not daily! Interviews, "talking head" shows, various articles, etc.
Some time after 911 the one person perhaps the most in-demand for various topical subjects has been "unexisted" for all intents and purposes.
Makes no sense, unless he's been engaged in stuff SO frightening, and SO highly classified that he is required to keep a VERY low profile (as in essentially nonexistent).
Too weird.
Presumably, he made some nontrivial income via speaking fees and whatnot, so you'd think that his public profile would have become HIGHER, rather than nonexistent!
Something simply does not add up. And given "the above", I found his recent comments (and moreso, the fact that he was commenting) to be somewhat ominous.
Titles and comment excerpted from Reviews of "Fatal Contact" (found by searching Google News)...
An alarmist ABC television network movie...has aroused an abdomen-clinching sense ...
Experts: "Fatal Contact" Exaggerates Worst Bird Flu Scenario KLTV
'Fatal Contact' should be quarantined
'Fatal Contact' flaps but never takes off
ABC's 'Fatal Contact' serves up a bucket of ...
FOR THE BIRDS
GIVE ME A BEAK
"Fatal Contact" almost sent me to the hospital
'Fatal Contact' is sure to leave you feeling ill
This poorly shot, underwritten, laughably acted telefilm
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