9 May 2006
Bird Flu Crisis
Filed under Everything Else
“Over the past few weeks, I’ve been fielding questions regarding bird flu and our preparedness regarding hazards associated with this illness (and other associated illnesses.) As a participating member of Needham’s Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC); Olin and Olin’s Crisis Management Team have assembled tools and resources for emergency response and management. Both the team and the LEPC continue to prepare for (and would respond as necessary to) pandemic flu outbreaks/incidents.”
Sometimes, the jokes just write themeselves. Is it a serious thing to worry about? Eh, not just yet, and maybe never. It’s still debatable whether the H5N1 strain of bird flu will mutate into something that will transmit freely from human to human. (A la SARS a few years ago, media fascination with H5N1 is directly correlated with the number of deaths that occur in non-Asian countries.)Worried about Bird Flu right now? Here are some tips you can use in your daily life.
- Avoid hanging out with on the order of 10,000 birds.
- Wash your hands. Get 8 hours of sleep. Eat your vegetables. Don’t talk back to Mom.
- Do not punch anyone in the face when they are talking about
H5N1. While they (most likely) do not have the H5N1 virus, they have
something far more contagious: stupidity. This disease is airborne,
highly communicable, and hereditary. - Do not watch ABC’s movie: “Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America” tonight. While it is unlikely you will contract bird flu from watching the telly (if you were seriously worried about this, please see the second half of bullet point 3, regarding “stupidity”), you’ll get an unrealistic portrayal of responding to a crisis. Remember Katrina? Picture that, but nationwide. Bam! Bird Flu in America.
In the days and weeks ahead, bird flu will kill at least 10, or maybe 20 people worldwide. We must all sacrifice to make it through these tough times.
:: Adam
9 May 2006 @ 6:47 pm
This movie may wake some people up but can confuse others. People need to read as much as they can about the flu and keep up to date with changes. You may want to see our site.