Oprah Show - Bird Flu Pandemic

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HeartofTexas

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Did anyone besides me see the Oprah Show today (Jan. 24) on the coming bird flu pandemic? It was beyond frightening. The experts on the show pretty much said it's not "if" it's coming but "when" it's coming. They talked about stock-piling food for our families for 4-5 weeks, wearing masks over our nose and mouth, etc. I would be interested in hearing other's reactions to this news. Personally, I'm scared.
 
I didn't see the show, but I work for a very prominent former Senator who has close ties at the Council of Foreign Relations. He warned us all and sent us Tamiflu prescriptions.
 
there is a long thread on this in either the jury room or parking lot. i do not know how to link it, but go to both sites and put bird flu in the search and it should come it. it is pages long.

as we speak i am stockpiling a year's worth of hard goods and food and water. i actually had come to the computer to add to my "stockpile inventory list" and thought i would come here first and saw this topic!!

sorry i did not see the oprah show, i usually do not watch her, but this would be of interest to me. i frankly am glad she addressed this. when i tell people what mr. izzyB and i are doing they act like i am an idiot!
 
izzyB said:
there is a long thread on this in either the jury room or parking lot. i do not know how to link it, but go to both sites and put bird flu in the search and it should come it. it is pages long.

as we speak i am stockpiling a year's worth of hard goods and food and water. i actually had come to the computer to add to my "stockpile inventory list" and thought i would come here first and saw this topic!!

sorry i did not see the oprah show, i usually do not watch her, but this would be of interest to me. i frankly am glad she addressed this. when i tell people what mr. izzyB and i are doing they act like i am an idiot!
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iizzyB, it might be a good idea if you published a recommended "stockpile inventory list" as others might have suggestions as to what else to add, and it would also help us plan too.
 
Buzzm1 said:
iizzB, it might be a good idea if you published a recommended "stockpile inventory list" as others might have suggestions as to what else to add, and it would also help us plan too.
Click to expand...


buzz, this has been my thinking: everytime i have to replace an item for the household, whether it is detergent, bleach, toothpaste, soap, etc. i try to estimate what mr. izzyB and i would use in a year if we were homebound. i know i would need handsoap to use everyday, but we probably would only shower or shampoo every two days or so. (that is IF the city water is still running....if i am staying home, those workers might as well!!) mr. izzyB might not shave every day, so i would buy razors and shaving cream thinking that would be an every-other-day thing.

i have bought rice, dry noodles and a lot of cream soup that we could heat in a crock pot. also tuna, jam, PB, crackers, etc in case there is no electric. we are thinking about getting a small generator, ergo the crock-pot meals. also cookies and juice, dry cerel and dry milk.

we could not go to the doctor so i have stockpiled health items like cough syrup, aspirin, band aids, nasal spray, etc.

i have plenty of toilet paper. it is harder to stockpile paper towels b/c they are bulky!!

i have two indoor cats and think about their kitty litter. where do i have the room to store a year's worth of kitty litter. i feed 7 feral cats. where do i have the room for their food???

it boggles the mind. and it is expensive! i am just half-way there and have already spent over $1,000!!

so it is overwhelming and i am just doing what i can. i worry about those who make their living in the service industry. if they quarantine our city, the gal who cuts my hair will go broke b/c no one will be going out!

also, you have to think about not having any transportation! if the city is quarantined, who will bring the gas to the pumps. mr. izzyB has an electric bike, but will it do him any good???

you just have to think: what will it take for me to be completely self-sufficient for a year. all the experts i have listened to said this thing will hit in waves and we will need to be prepared for longer than just a few weeks!
 
something else i am doing is writing all the expiration dates in marks-a-lot on the sides of the cans/item etc so that i can "rotate stock". also i am buying a lot of canned veggies that we can eat without cooking. they will not be too tasaty, but they will fill us up.

on one of the "survival" sites i went to, that was really for Y2K, they said that with very little fresh fruits and veggies, (we donot have a garden) constipation might be a problem so they recommend a laxative and stool softener. but of course, it could go the other way, so i have some OTC pills that will clog you up as well.
 
OK Y'all are scaring me. I read tamiflu has a success rate equal to taking nothing at all.

I have heard this is much ado about nothing. But I want my family safe. So is everyone stocking up on canned goods like it is a hurricane? Do I plan for no electricity?
Also I heard the masks are really for mental assurance as the flu virus is so small it fits in between the filtering.

Also, I have cats that would be in contact with birds. Could I pet them if they had been outside?
 
Sorry to hear there was already a thread on this topic... I looked all over the forum for one before I posted this and didn't see it.

The expert on the Oprah Show only recommended stockpiling food for 4-5 weeks... and now I hear several of you saying you're stockpiling for a year. Wow. The way the guy on TV talked today, a lot of the nation would shut down. I missed the first 15 minutes of the show so probably missed some important details; however, it's re-televised here at 8:00 p.m. and I plan on watching it again.

I don't want to get hysterical right off the bat, but this really does sound incredibly scary. And the man on TV today said that hospitals would be no help because they are already overloaded and once the flu hits they will not be able to handle it whatsoever. They compared the coming bird flu to what happened in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit.
 
I definitely think this is something to watch. The bird flu has spread to Turkey from Asia. We should always be aware and not rely 100% on the government and/or the news media to give us the direction. Some decisions will be ours to make.
 
izzyB said:
buzz, this has been my thinking: everytime i have to replace an item for the household, whether it is detergent, bleach, toothpaste, soap, etc. i try to estimate what mr. izzyB and i would use in a year if we were homebound. i know i would need handsoap to use everyday, but we probably would only shower or shampoo every two days or so. (that is IF the city water is still running....if i am staying home, those workers might as well!!) mr. izzyB might not shave every day, so i would buy razors and shaving cream thinking that would be an every-other-day thing.

i have bought rice, dry noodles and a lot of cream soup that we could heat in a crock pot. also tuna, jam, PB, crackers, etc in case there is no electric. we are thinking about getting a small generator, ergo the crock-pot meals. also cookies and juice, dry cerel and dry milk.

we could not go to the doctor so i have stockpiled health items like cough syrup, aspirin, band aids, nasal spray, etc.

i have plenty of toilet paper. it is harder to stockpile paper towels b/c they are bulky!!

i have two indoor cats and think about their kitty litter. where do i have the room to store a year's worth of kitty litter. i feed 7 feral cats. where do i have the room for their food???

it boggles the mind. and it is expensive! i am just half-way there and have already spent over $1,000!!

so it is overwhelming and i am just doing what i can. i worry about those who make their living in the service industry. if they quarantine our city, the gal who cuts my hair will go broke b/c no one will be going out!

also, you have to think about not having any transportation! if the city is quarantined, who will bring the gas to the pumps. mr. izzyB has an electric bike, but will it do him any good???

you just have to think: what will it take for me to be completely self-sufficient for a year. all the experts i have listened to said this thing will hit in waves and we will need to be prepared for longer than just a few weeks!
Click to expand...
There's no telling all of the services, that we take for granted, which would be adversely affected. Maybe it would be a good chance for me to use the 100, or so, lbs. of dried beans I have in the back room. I don't like to run out of anything, ever, so I normally have at least a year's supply of just about everything on hand. The things I would miss are the variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, and juices, that I always like to have around. Hopefully I'll lay in another supply of homemade chili, soups, and spaghetti sauce, before the critical time comes. I'll take my propane tanks down and fill them. I'll buy a few of the 10 lb. boxes of frozen vegetables.

Our local zoo is preparing for the onset of the bird flu--it's on the news right now.
 
concernedperson said:
I definitely think this is something to watch. The bird flu has spread to Turkey from Asia. We should always be aware and not rely 100% on the government and/or the news media to give us the direction. Some decisions will be ours to make.
Click to expand...

You are so right. We have personal responsibility and must take our futures and the health of our families and ourselves into our own hands.
 
I saw just enough of Oprah yesterday to get the impression that we should all run for our lives. The only part I saw was stockpiling food, and the issue with the city water supplies.

After 9/11, I think it is a good idea to keep a cache of supplies, water, food, money, etc, but does this pandemic thing seem a little like the Y2K blowup a few years ago. Everyone panicked then, and not a thing happened. I wonder how much of this is drama.
 
In the event of a pandemic, information will be available at:

www.pandemicflu.gov

www.cdc.gov

www.who.int/en

www.MayoClinic.com

Health experts agree that a world-wide influenze pandemic is inevitable. The only unknown is when it will occur and how severe it will be.

Suggestions:

1)keep informed
2)get standard flu shot
3)see Dr. within 2 days of getting flu symptoms
4)Frequently wash hands or use alcohol-based hand sanitizers
5)Consider wearing face mask in public (N95)
6)Think carefully about travel
7) Stay home if ill; encourage co-workers to stay home when ill

- from Mayo Clinic Health Letter, "Bird flu, surviving a pandemic", January, 2006
 
I didn't watch the Oprah show (but my sister did, and just freaked). IMO, it is just a matter of time before it ends up here in the US, but to what extend and how widespread, etc., I have no idea. However, I had already thought about things that I would start stockpiling as the time grows near.

Certain services, or actually, lack thereof, do worry me. Of course, for me...BF is a firefighter, and I work in LE. Those first responders are always on the forefront of getting everything there is to get! Same with the medical staffs. So, take the fire department. Yep, you can vaccinate them for the flu, but if things are supposed to be quarantined, etc. - who's going to perform those fire services, and allllllll the medical emergencies that they respond to? And like some are predicting - hospitals won't be much help because they'll be overwhelmed already. So what do you do with those needing immediate care and/or long-term care. And same with LE. I haven't heard our agency talking about contingency plans yet - I'm sure the "powers that be" may (SHOULD) be working on it, but I just haven't heard anything yet. I'm certainly interested to know what may take place.

And water, sewer, other utilty workers and services. And then schools (homeschooling anyone?). It goes on and on. I'm not freaking or panicking, but when you start thinking about it, it could indeed be catastrophic to businesses and the economy.
 
It's really hard to know what to believe, as this is all new to me and used to seem so out of the realm of possibility (prior to Katrina)... but they were talking on Oprah yesterday about how one industry's closure will affect another industry and will have a domino effect across the U.S. Another thing they mentioned was going to clinics or hospitals for treatment after someone gets sick... and how everyone in those rooms would then be exposed to the virus even more. Who will even venture out? I've read about the virus staying alive for a couple of days so wonder how that would affect the safety of money. Just think about someone handing you change (dollars or coins) somewhere and the money having the virus on it. I also don't understand why they were saying prepare food and water, etc. for 4-5 weeks and yet most of the flu sites say to prepare for a year! That's a big discrepancy in the amount of time you need to plan on being self-sufficient. Sorry for my rambling thoughts... there's so much about this that scares me and so much that I don't comprehend that my thoughts are all over the place.
 
nanandjim said:
I guess that I will die from it as I am not stockpiling or doing anything to prepare.
Click to expand...
I'm with you-- I might have a couple of gallons of water hanging around the house, and a can of tuna left over from hurricane scares... but I just cant live like that- I am not saying not to stay informed- but my god- did you see tha list of food supplies that was on the other link ?? I am afraid if I have to stockpile a years worth of food for anything--- life wouldnt be worth living anyway-
 
LOL J2! I know, I saw that list. I need to build a wing on my house just to store it all And I so admire the poster above who says she rotates her supply so she's using the oldest first... but I know I would never do that for more than a week. Storage in my home is already overloaded so I sure don't know where I could set up a year's worth of food and water AND be able to access it well enough to rotate it. Knowing me, even if I did manage to stockpile a year's worth of supplies, and then actually stayed indoors for one year, I would no doubt walk out the front door on day 366 and shake the hands of someone carrying the virus. And then when I think of all of America stockpiling their food, I see the price of every day items skyrocketing due to supply and demand. I hate to sound like a fatalist but I really don't know how we can protect ourselves to the degree we need to.
 
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