Pandemic Preparedness

[itsybitsy]

An earlier OP by Su got me thinking about pandemic preparedness. What would you do to prepare if news reports starting filtering through of people dying in parts of the world of a new viral strain?

I think we can all agree that the MSM would NOT 'officially' start calling it a pandemic until it was probably too late for a lot of people anyway, for fear of causing widespread panic. So how early would you be pricking your ears up and kicking into action? And what would you do? Do you have any specific preps in place for this kind of emergency?

[hobo]

I keep a sharp eye on fluwiki http://www.newfluwiki2.com

If it was severe and became confirmed person to person in the UK, that's when we'd pull the kids out of school, do some final supplies shopping and lock the door until well after it had peaked or an effective vaccine had been made available.

[dizzydays]

An earlier OP by Su got me thinking about pandemic preparedness. What would you do to prepare if news reports starting filtering through of people dying in parts of the world of a new viral strain?

I think we can all agree that the MSM would NOT 'officially' start calling it a pandemic until it was probably too late for a lot of people anyway, for fear of causing widespread panic. So how early would you be pricking your ears up and kicking into action? And what would you do? Do you have any specific preps in place for this kind of emergency?

I haven't got a specific plan - and it looks like no one else has or they are keeping them very private!
The problem as I see it is work. I can keep an eye on the wiki flu site to look for outbreaks, but at what point do I decide to not go to work? I really don't know Itsy.

DD

[itsybitsy]

I haven't got a specific plan - and it looks like no one else has or they are keeping them very private!
The problem as I see it is work. I can keep an eye on the wiki flu site to look for outbreaks, but at what point do I decide to not go to work? I really don't know Itsy.

Exactly! Me either!

[preppingsu]

I would think about how you get to work, what public places/transport to you pass through/use. Think about the contact with people while at work. For example if you constantly have people walking through where you work, many of your collegues are off ill or even coming into work coughing and spluttering and the news coverage is upfront then you need to think about if you could work from home or take a few days leave. However, if you man a phone and have little contact with the great unwashed then you may be OK.

Ensure you have a stash/stock of essential cleaning items to keep desk etc clean. Tissues to hand out to people around you. Empty your nearest trash can/bin to somewhere further away (especially if full of tissues). Use anti bac gel etc regulary although soap and water is best if you can easily wash regulary.

Just a few thoughts...

[the-gnole]

Should it be like the last one I think I will just "Keep calm and carry on".

It "appears" that it was not WHO led, but more GSK led, it certainly sold a lot of drugs for them

I do have a copy of the DoH pandemic flu guidance though,

http://www.dh.gov.uk/dr_consum_dh/group ... 080745.pdf

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsand ... /DH_080734

Anybody reading this would conclude that flu “causes” an average of 12,000 deaths a year in the UK. Sometimes even higher figures are quoted, up to 25,000 deaths a year. But in fact all we can say for certain is that flu causes a few tens of deaths a year, and is associated with a few thousand: in recent years, considerably fewer than 12,000.

In BMJ on 2 February 2010 Sir Liam himself published the figures for deaths caused by flu in England and Wales in the past four years. There were 39 such deaths in 2008, 31 in 2007, 17 in 2006 and 44 in 2005, he said. The total for the nine seasons 2000-2001 to 2008-09 (which he did not quote) was 358.

[Triple_sod]

I dunno, do you think they'll let me on the bus?

[the-gnole]

I dunno, do you think they'll let me on the bus?

Hmmm, Let me think about that one, nope, you haven't got your marigolds on

[silverrider]

I dunno, do you think they'll let me on the bus?

Hi TS is that an S10? If so, do you know where I might acquire spare filters? I have four masks so would want at least that many extra. Also, are you aware of any problems with the S10, like sealing issues?

[the-gnole]

Hi TS is that an S10? If so, do you know where I might acquire spare filters? I have four masks so would want at least that many extra. Also, are you aware of any problems with the S10, like sealing issues?

I got spare filters from Ebay, or Strikeforce supplies/surplus.

They are a standard thread size for cannisters from many countries, except the US iirc.

You can also get an extension tube for the filters to be remote from the mask and for fitting assorted medical equipment such as used for bagging a patient.

Not had a problem when I have checked the families masks for leakage.