Bird Flu facts and fear
How concerned should we be in southern Indiana about the media frenzy of Avian flu?
Is anyone losing sleep over this issue or is this just more media headlines and scare tactics?
Is our local hospital prepared and if we don’t have enough beds now, what would happen with a bad flu epidemic?
All are questions with a variety of answers and opinions.
For everyone’s information, the Indiana State Department of Health has already issued a response plan [Indiana State Department of Health - Home Page] and is sending teams to brief local health departments, hospital and first responder personnel.
Avian flu is a new virus subtype contagious to humans and highly lethal. But up till now, humans have only caught the virus directly from infected birds. But, if the virus mutates in a certain way, it could develop an ability to pass from human to human. These results could prove staggering.
There have been 117 cases in humans reported in Vietnam, Indonesia and China since 1997. And of these, 57 deaths occurred, giving a frightening mortality rate of nearly 50 percent.
The last flu pandemic was in the 60’s with the Hong Kong Flu and it killed about 37,000 in the United States.
I believe this is a concern that our leaders should be worrying about, but I think the media has blown it out of proportion to the public. There is nothing we can do as individuals at the present time, and all the media attention just creates unnecessary fear and anxiety.
Is anyone losing sleep over this issue or is this just more media headlines and scare tactics?
Is our local hospital prepared and if we don’t have enough beds now, what would happen with a bad flu epidemic?
All are questions with a variety of answers and opinions.
For everyone’s information, the Indiana State Department of Health has already issued a response plan [Indiana State Department of Health - Home Page] and is sending teams to brief local health departments, hospital and first responder personnel.
Avian flu is a new virus subtype contagious to humans and highly lethal. But up till now, humans have only caught the virus directly from infected birds. But, if the virus mutates in a certain way, it could develop an ability to pass from human to human. These results could prove staggering.
There have been 117 cases in humans reported in Vietnam, Indonesia and China since 1997. And of these, 57 deaths occurred, giving a frightening mortality rate of nearly 50 percent.
The last flu pandemic was in the 60’s with the Hong Kong Flu and it killed about 37,000 in the United States.
I believe this is a concern that our leaders should be worrying about, but I think the media has blown it out of proportion to the public. There is nothing we can do as individuals at the present time, and all the media attention just creates unnecessary fear and anxiety.
posted by Anonymous at 8:38 AM
1 Comments:
I read John M. Barry's "The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague In History" last spring while confined to quarters with pneumonia.
Not the best time to read such a book, but it is a fascinating account of the pandemic as well as providing a short history of the medical profession in America.
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