http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4305813.stm

Do you think we are prepared? Both major opposition governments have slated the plans for been too late.

I wonder if this will turn into the same shambles Foot and Mouth was? I Remember during the Foot & Mouth crisis, Blair donned a blue boiler suit and strode into the fray.

"I personally am taking charge" It got so bad after then, he disappeared for months. :P

I'm not sure. The problem won't so much be if we're prepared, but if everyone else is. We have a national health service and are a relatively small country. The larger countries without a unified health service to all areas may not fair so well.

Off topic, but something that I noticed:

Has anyone noticed the increase in the use of the word 'pandemic' in the media? Previously even widespread diseases such as AIDS or foot and mouth were only reported as 'epidemic', but I've heard the word 'pandemic' used to describe several things since it started being used to describe this problem.

Originally posted by Lickszz
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4305813.stm

Do you think we are prepared? Both major opposition governments have slated the plans for been too late.

I wonder if this will turn into the same shambles foot and mouth was? I Remember during the Foot & Mouth crisis, Blair donned a blue boiler suit and strode into the fray.

"I personally am taking charge" It got so bad after then, he disappeared for months. :P

On the TV news they said the govt. had only enough antidote for 1 in 4 of the popluation which would be allocated on a 'need to survive' basis. Politicians first [natch!], then civil service, doctors, nurses etc. Any left over would be available for volunteers who could drive a JCB to dig the pits to pile the rest of us into :P

The main thing here is not to panic.

First of all, the anti-viral drugs available are not necessarily going to be useful - depends upon the strain of flu that comes along. Some drugs are useful against all viruses, others are more selective.

Also, if you look at the last three major flu outbreaks - 1920, 1957(?) and 1968(?) the death rates have fallen radically - 20 millions in the first one and about a million each in the last two.

Also, WHO acknowldege that you need a resistant population of about 25% of the population to form a 'firebreak' to stop runaway contagion - and the chances are that the Government has got the drugs needed for that.

Of course, if people also followed basic good sense - stayed at home when sick, didn't spit in the street, covered mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing - then we might do even better!

Joe

Originally posted by JoePritchard
The main thing here is not to panic.


I've a feeling it will be governments doing the panicking. We won't know until the first case pops up somewhere outside SE Asia. There is already talk of a world-wide grounding of passenger aircraft in the event of a significant outbreak.

From what I've read the WHO aren't yet sure what the symptom-free incubation period of this virus is and given the global increase in population densities and popularity of air travel, infection could spread quite rapidly.