Health Alert

[crashdive123]

its nice to know that in an attack you will be prorected where my family is not . i guess your million dollar suit is for cleaning up our worthless dead bodies. but you and your friends and families ars safe. wheres my safe suit? how do you have access and none of us do? oppression of a poverty nation of people kept powerless and unprotected so that we "DEPEND" on our gov,(who is protected). that is discusting.i dont agree, if we dont need one; you dont need one (any every cop in america does have access to one. i dont believe that one! one of those dont tell the public venues...... in the event of an attack i would just take one right off of someones back. i intend to get my suit when i need it.

A couple of points on your statements here, hope I don't offend, but I'll leave that for you to decide if I did or not.

wheres my safe suit?

Since it is something that you feel so strongly about, go out and buy them. If you cannot afford them, take a second job, forego some of the things in your life that are not essential until you can.

how do you have access and none of us do?

Probably due to career choices. I had access to a submarine due to my career choices which was prettly good at keeping the personnel isolated either from exposure, or the public from exposure should we become infected.

oppression of a poverty nation of people kept powerless and unprotected

I disagree with your statement implying that we are intentionally being opressed to keep us in poverty. Those that find themselves in poverty (for the most part) are there due to the choices they have made in their lives.

in the event of an attack i would just take one right off of someones back.

Then you will probably be killed. Who will look out for your family then?

i intend to get my suit when i need it

Obviously this is of great concern to you. Start now. The "suit" is not the magic pill. You can only live in one for so long. The longest I ever spent in gear designed to protect (not the flu, but for radiation - but you get the idea) was 25 hours. It was miserable - being tethered to an air fed mask by an 8 foot hose. Learn what habits will help keep you safe. Purchase items that will assist in that. The "suit" is not for day to day living and will not be practical. It is for clean up, for entering a known contaminated area.

[erunkiswldrnssurvival]

that wasnt my point. most attacks spawn from the gov. imposing law on foriegn countries. like afganistan. a lot of people agree that we should fend for our selves.i am not a thug , or a hoodlem. i just meant to say that the boi suit is for cleaning up a dead society that had no protection from retaiation inspired by our gov. its discusting how cheap every citisen is.they can afford to protect them selves with our tax money while we work harder they make them selves safer.its not the point of haveing a siut to wear,we are thrown out there to die and they stay safe? something doesnt sound right.you can speak for them,but they have left you to abandon also. those suits arent for survival they use them to clean up dead people. and that doesnt help me at all.we invented the garbage truck to prevent the million dollar trash pickup?. we citesens dont rank in the "protected" catagory.if they want us to fight terror they should help protect us.it shouldnt be me buy it my self,

[crashdive123]

Well, you are certainly entitled to your beliefs. I suppose it is just best for me to say that I disagree with your assessment and leave it at that.

[Rick]

I'm sorry. I don't understand your position. Health care workers and some other first responders DESERVE special equipment. I don't have a problem spending tax dollars to protect them any more than I do spending bucks to protect the troops. We ask them all to walk into harms way. The least we can do is say, "Here, take this PAPR with you and good luck with that".

But I don't need one. There is nothing to protect me from and it's just dollars down the bunny hole. Outbreaks of influenza occur all the time. Occasionally, an outbreak is more serious than normal but given the level of tracking, reporting and medical care it's a lot more difficult for a pandemic to get started and to continue. Notice, I said more difficult, not impossible.

[mcfd45]

The number of suspected deaths in Mexico now stands at 103. 22 deaths are actually confirmed as of this writing.

Canada has six confirmed cases all in Nova Scotia I think and the US number still stands at 20, none of which have been fatal.

I can only guess why Mexico has seen so many deaths and no other country including New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the U.S. have yet to see a death associated with this strain of flu (if indeed it is the same strain). Perhaps availability to early treatment? Who knows.

@mcfd45 - I like the way you think. A calm head and a steady had in any emergency is huge asset. A question for you. You said the PAPR filters and tape are only good for a year. I've never been one to invest in such things but I was wondering why they are only good for a year. Do you know?

I am not 100% sure about the filters. Maybe they think worry about it sitting in my ambulance for a year going from -10 degrees up to 120 in the summer sun? (i don't know) I do know the tape is not just duct tape, it has special absorbant stuff in it that absorbs. In a pinch duct tape will work, but if we are gonna spend millions to outfit our crews we figured we should spend the extra $ and do it right.

[mcfd45]

that wasnt my point. most attacks spawn from the gov. imposing law on foriegn countries. like afganistan. a lot of people agree that we should fend for our selves.i am not a thug , or a hoodlem. i just meant to say that the boi suit is for cleaning up a dead society that had no protection from retaiation inspired by our gov. its discusting how cheap every citisen is.they can afford to protect them selves with our tax money while we work harder they make them selves safer.its not the point of haveing a siut to wear,we are thrown out there to die and they stay safe? something doesnt sound right.you can speak for them,but they have left you to abandon also. those suits arent for survival they use them to clean up dead people. and that doesnt help me at all.we invented the garbage truck to prevent the million dollar trash pickup?. we citesens dont rank in the "protected" catagory.if they want us to fight terror they should help protect us.it shouldnt be me buy it my self,

What attacks in afghanistan are you talking about? Post a link please?

Perhaps you don't know about me let me explain who I am and what I do. I am an EMT serving metro detroit. The company I work for is part of the Casualty Transport System (CTS). We have been given PAPRs and decon equipment to respond to CBRNE disasters, we have been given training for the use of the PAPRs and response to a disaster. When it happens we will be there to set up a mobile hospital (350 beds), and provide care for those that need it. The suits do not go home with me, I don't have access for my family to have a suit. If you want a suit so bad go and buy one or get involved someway, join a CERT (not sure if they do or not), get your EMT license. The suits are meant for people that are serving the public and cleaning the mess up, not for some guy to get his hands on one and wear it around his house, to the store, church, work, take a picnic in it. They are meant for response, not prevention. So tell me when we have a CBRNE emergency what services can you offer to help us? Hmmmm? Tell me why you should get a suit? The law says they are required to provide me with protection prior to sending me into a hot zone. The law will most likely make it illegal to enter or exit the hot zone.

I would really really reaaaaaaaaally advise against stealing a suit, or killing one of us to get a suit. 1: is the suit new or used? 2: cops would be on you like white on rice. 3: you would get thrown in jail, I bet they have a good infection control policy in play there. 4: you arent trained in the use of them so why risk it?

If you are still looking for a suit you would have to get a PAPR, not a mask but a hood styled suit. They are generally more expensive than a mask style setup. go ahead and tell me why you can't use a mask.

[trax]

Well clearly, as far as wardrobe goes, my tinfoil hat is not long enough on it's own anymore. Nevertheless, I'm kind of liking what mcfd45 said about a health alert. All these numbers of dead people in Mexico City? So what about the rest of Mexico? Because if it's only in Mexico City then you have to say that's the numbers for the whole country anyway and it's a city of what millions and millions and millions..so uh, how many people died of old age in the same time frame?

Sorry folks, people die...

[crashdive123]

Just a bit of info for those seeking ways to take "normal" steps to help prevent problems. http://www.cdc.gov/features/masksrespirators/

[trax]

Just a bit of info for those seeking ways to take "normal" steps to help prevent problems. http://www.cdc.gov/features/masksrespirators/

"normal"?? was that some kind of scurrilous underhanded sarcasm about my tinfoil hat? It keeps the aliens away pal, no mind probes here. HAH!

[crashdive123]

Must have been a moment of weakness.

[crashdive123]

Remember the last swine flu? I was in the Navy at the time. Everybody at my unit was inoculated. Spent 3 days in bed, unable to get up (along with 90% of everybody else that was inoculated). Now, how did the swine flu in 1976 affect the US population? There was one death. How did the inoculations affect the US population? They stopped administering them after about 40 million - 32 deaths and 500 people paralyzed. Hopefully this proves to not be too serious.

[mcfd45]

The masks they are handing out in NYC and Mexico are not respirators, they are just droplet masks. I do not believe these will do any good to prevent you from getting the flu but rather help you from spreading it to others.

If one good thing comes out of this I hope all the hysteria and mania have people questioning why we don't put a wall up on our borders. Even though you and I know it was brought back home by a bunhc of kids on spring break.

[crashdive123]

Watching and reading the news reports - there appears to be a great deal of panic in areas. While individuals and governments should and must do what they can to prevent the spread of this, or any illness - I wonder if people realize that every year there are many cases of flu and deaths that result from it (yes, I realize this is not flu season).

How many people get sick or die from the flu every year?
Each flu season is unique, but it is estimated that, on average, approximately 5% to 20% of U.S. residents get the flu, and more than 200,000 persons are hospitalized for flu-related complications each year. About 36,000 Americans die on average per year from the complications of flu.

Taken from CDC website - http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/disease.htm

[crashdive123]

All i care about is the mortality rate.

40 confirmed cases in the US...0 deaths...that's 0%.
In Mexico it is a different story.
The last numbers i heard is more than a 1000 confirmed cases...more than 100 deaths.
That's 10% so far.
You know...10% is pretty high. 1 in 10 die...a lot bigger odds of dying than with the "common flu" each year...and as you said, those 36,000 americans died of complications, since most of those deaths are of a very specific age group...the elderly.

This week will tell if this flu will grow or just plateau.
We still do not have enough info to tell.
In the meantime...the reasonable thing to do is redirect certain preparations to meet this new threat.

Excellent post. Plan and prepare. As the threat shifts, the preparations should do the same.

[wareagle69]

i think as with the 1976 and 1918 flu we are at the end of the flue season, i will worry more as it makes its return in the fall

[Link7881]

Scientists were trying to determine if the deaths involved the same new strain of swine flu that sickened seven people in Texas and California

That's a pretty broad "region" to encompass Cali, Texas, and Mexico City.

I believe that many scientists were trying to determine if those deaths are involved in the same new strain of swine flu or h1n1 virus that sickened seven people in Texas and California. My friend who is a Mountain view radiation oncologist
said that we really have to be aware of these viruses. We should be prepared any time and always. Being prepared will help us avoid these flu that had strike the country and nearby countries too.

This is an excellent post!

[Winnie]

So what happens when your govt decides containment and treatment is no longer a viable option?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8130097.stm

As Wareagle said earlier, what worries me is when we start to see cases of seasonal flu.
Viruses are very promiscuous and the likihood of seasonal and the H1N1 virus mingling to produce a more virulent strain are pretty good.
As Australia are now in their winter and seasonal flu is making an appearence it will be interesting to see what happens.
So still be on your guard, just because swine flu is no longer in the headlines, doesn't mean it's gone away.

[Rick]

Welcome link7881. Why not head over to our Introduction section and tells us a bit about yourself?

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...splay.php?f=14

I'm not certain how being prepared will help us avoid any illness. Communicable diseases are just that. Very often the virus is passed among hosts with little or no symptoms present.