Since H5N1 is making its seasonal rounds (a new death of a 6 year old in Indonesia is being reported today, making 7 positive cases and six deaths since the beginning of January; H5 now documented in birds in Hungary, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan), it might be helpful to add some politics to the mix.
Bird flu poses as big a threat to the world as ever, and people need to worry about it more, U.S. senators and health leaders agreed on Wednesday.
The H5N1 avian flu virus could cause a human pandemic at any time, killing perhaps millions, yet preparations are slow, they told a Senate hearing.
Federal health officials said they were working to raise preparedness, although progress has been slowed by budget limitations and the generally poor state of public health in the United States.
"I am concerned that there is not as much public awareness or concern today as there was a year ago," Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter told the hearing of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on health.
"You don't want to unduly alarm people. (But) I think people are unconcerned."
Arlen Specter has the the same concerns as the rest of us who follow this story. It's the Risk Communication Dilemma:
"There's no way to get people to take precautions without frightening them," [Peter] Sandman said.
What is likely to lead to panic is giving false reassurance, he said. "When you mislead people, when you overreassure people, they feel abandoned--because they are," he said. That's what happened in the United States during the flu pandemic of 1918 and during the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in China in 2003, he added.
"People panicked because the government was telling them there was no SARS," he said.
"People are much better able to handle a crisis when they are told the truth" and "treated as adults."
They are also better able to handle a crisis when they are prepared for one. So, consider what you would need to do to weather a storm that lasts 2 weeks or longer.
Larimer County, Colorado is advising their citizens to do exactly that.
During a pandemic you may have to stay at home for many days or several weeks. Now is the time to store enough food, water, household, first aid and medical supplies for at least two weeks (at most 12 weeks) in case you are homebound or in case businesses stop operating.
Here in CT, ice storms and blizzards make that an all-hazards approach. But the reemergence of H5N1 is a reminder that the pandemic flu story is far from over.
We will eventually have another pandemic. It may not be H5N1, but sooner or later, we will be faced with a killer flu. We, along with Arlen Specter, know the country isn't ready for that, and you yourself may not be, either. But taking the time to keep informed, and taking steps to get prepared for a natural disaster is a great step in mitigating the effects of nature's next curve ball. Ask anyone in Oklahoma who had to deal with the latest ice storm.
Oh, and while you are at it, support local and national efforts to correct "the generally poor state of public health in the United States." Whether it's Katrina or a flu pandemic, you never know when you're going to need our public health infrastructure next.