NorthStarXO  

I'm sorry that we missed the show last weekend. We're actually located on an island in the south Puget Sound and we sometimes have glitches in electric and phone because the cables that supply those services run under the water and they're very old. They've been upgrading them but they're too expensive to replace at this time so the repair them and sometimes we lose service.

This weekend's show we'll discuss some of the current events as well as discussing the upcoming flu season and pandemic flu.

Let's start with the news and then we'll try to cover some of the other topics.

Historically there have been epidemics for as long as beast and man had contact. Some caused by bacteria, some by viruses.

The most famous episode of plague in Europe, the Black Death, seems to have originated in Central Asia; it arrived in Milan in 1348, carried by ship-borne rats. By 1351, all of the European world was affected. In some areas, two-thirds to three-quarters of the population died, perhaps as many as 25 million overall.

The great influenza pandemic of 1918 began when the "Spanish flu" struck Chungking in July, Persia in early August, and France two weeks later; in two months it had covered the entire globe, taking 500,000 lives in the United States, 12,000,000 in India, and 22,000,000 overall -- nearly twice as many as World War I.

Throughout history, influenza viruses have mutated and caused pandemics or global epidemics. In 1890, an especially virulent influenza pandemic struck, killing many Americans. Those who survived that pandemic and lived to experience the 1918 pandemic tended to be less susceptible to the disease.

In 1918, the Public Health Service had just begun to require state and local health departments to provide them with reports about diseases in their communities. The problem? Influenza wasn’t a reportable disease.

In this day and age it is carefully recorded so that we can try to predict outbreaks and create vaccines each season to help prevent the flu or lessen it's effects and hopefully stave off an outbreak or pandemic.

In 1997, an outbreak of a new, deadly strain of influenza A (H5N1) occurred in poultry in Hong Kong. Since that time, the virus has mutated and has passed from sick poultry to over 300 humans worldwide of which nearly 60% have died. So far, human-to-human transmission has been very limited and not sustained.

The H5N1 virus continues to change and poses a significant potential threat as the cause of the next pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization and other leading public agencies all agree that the threat of another flu pandemic is real and it’s not a question of IF anymore but WHEN.

Regardless of where the outbreak starts, everyone around the world will be at risk. Especially in this day and age of global travel. If you don’t take steps to prepare before a pandemic it will be harder for you to follow important health advice when a pandemic occurs.

The US Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), the CDC and health experts are asking that you stock up on foods and other necessities, improve your health and plan ahead for how you will take care of yourself and you family during an outbreak.

Stock up on non-perishable foods, bottled water, over the counter drugs, health supplies and other necessities so that you won’t have to leave your home. You’re trying to reduce your exposure to other people during a pandemic crisis.

Over-the-counter drugs will pretty much be your lifeline. A virus isn’t “cured” by antibiotics. Part of the problem today is the overuse of antibiotics leading to the mutation of bacteria & diseases that are now a antibiotic resistant. In a virus you can treat the symptoms. Pain relievers, fever reducers, expectorants, cough syrup, decongestants, etc. I have a small problem with combination medications like cough & cold formulas, etc. because they may treat symptoms that you don’t have and can worsen other symptoms like antihistamines that dry you up when you need to really have an expectorant to get that stuff out. Educate yourself now so that you won’t panic later.

Research continues into effective antivirals, seeking medications that can reduce the severity of an influenza attack. Antivirals are drugs that are used to prevent or cure a disease caused by a virus, by interfering with the ability of the virus to multiply in number or spread from cell to cell. Recent increases in the number and promotion of antiviral drugs for influenza have increased interest in the role of specific antiviral drugs for treatment of the flu. Use of antiviral drugs does not eliminate the risk of complications, and some complications can be life threatening.

Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to minimize suffering and death from influenza. Research efforts have led to the development of a vaccine for one of the two strains of the H5N1 influenza virus in humans. In the event of a pandemic, it could take months to develop an effective vaccine. Federal officials have drafted a plan that spells out who gets priority for the first vaccinations.

DHHS recommends that you have at least a 2-week supply but as we all know here, stocking up is a good thing and you can do it over time as long as you start today. Listen to the archived shows for food storage ideas and information and read our blog here on Blog Talk Radio for lists and information. These supplies aren’t just for a pandemic. There are plenty of situations that you should stock up for and there’s no substitute for overall preparedness. FEMA and the Red Cross have upped their recommendations to 4 weeks so the more, the safer.

And stock up on cleaning supplies.

As you begin your individual or family planning, you may want to review your state's planning efforts and those of your local public health and emergency preparedness officials. Many of the state plans and other planning information can be found at pandemicflu.gov/plan/state/index.html

This is all under your own control.