Bird Flu
        and You

                                     
                                                   Are there any other causes for concern

 

A major cause of concern surrounding the bird flu virus turning into a pandemic will be the availability of quality health care.  The hospitals will be swamped with patients; there will be a shortage of health care workers.  In one state in the US, they are predicting that when the flu pandemic starts, they will need 100 flu shot centers; assuming there will be vaccine available.  The flu centers will need to be staffed, requiring an extra 17,000 employees to run and staff the centers.  Healthcare workers will need to be trained to assist in manage the pandemic, the training needs to start now.  Hospitals need to start building their on call staff to cover the voids left by sick healthcare personnel. 

As the reality of possible bird flu pandemic people are trying to find ways to protect themselves.  The best way to survive the flu pandemic is to protect you from the being infected.  As the threat of a pandemic draws nearer there will be a slue of gizmos introduced into the market place promising protections and others promising cures.  This will be a case of buyer be aware.  Buy only products that are tried true and tested. 

Face Coverage:

The sale of protective masks is on the rise.  The one that is drawing the most attention is the Nanomask.  Nanomasks are masks that are designed to keep out biological hazards including the bird flu virus have seen sales on the rise.  The company the produces the masks says they the demand of the masks out weigh they production.  They are selling up to 200, 000 masks a week already.  It is not clear whether these masks meet the CDC n95 rating of masks nor has the company submitted their masks for CDC testing.  Though tested in an independent laboratory the masks have been shown to filter out particles as small as 0.027 microns.

Treatment:  For a while Tamiflu showed promise as a drug that would treat the bird flu.  As nations, hospitals stockpiles the medication, taking it out of circulation, the news broke that the bird flu was developing resistance to the drug.  The bird flu is mutates regularly and as such protects itself from onslaught by drugs.  Keep up the news as to which drugs are effective.

Diet and dietary Supplements:

To the date the FDA are not pointing any supplements to aid in protecting you against the bird flu.  They recommend avoiding take supplements as these sometimes interfere with medications.  Be weary of anyone promising a miracle cure that is too good to be true.

As with any other viral infection, take the usual precautions.  Wash your hands meticulously and keep clean.  Use tissues to sneeze and cough into and then dispose of them properly.  Limit contact with the public avoid areas of high human concentration, like public transportation and shopping malls.  Simple old fashioned precaution may be all you need to protect you and your neighbors from the spread of the disease.