OK, it prolly won't mutate and take half the worlds pop like it did in 1918... but if: I live rurally. If I heard of a mutation from animal to human and that it went airborne, I'd take a few steps. Some of this has been discussed between Bear and Phishi and I via Phone and PM so feel free to jump in guys. Yeah, I have Tamiflu. Yeah, people say it can't stop HN51... But that is because it hasn't been tested against it. Oh well, TamiFlu is an antiviral. That means that it kills virus' and stops the spread. I'm not viewing it as a silver bullet but if my area gets hit with the plague, it's prolly better than peanut butter. My home is my retreat. Not as far enough away as I'd like but better than living in a metropolis. phishi mentioned an account of the Bubonic plague and I forget the reference... A woman had drawn a circle around her home/hut/village, etc. and declared that anyone outside the circle had to stay outside the circle, and visa versa. She would watch the outside folks for a month and if they showed no symptoms, she'd let them in. This is not a bad idea and it is type of reverse quarantine. If the flu SHTF happened, I'd not allow my immediate family to leave the home, No school, no work. If some of my city dwelling friends showed up after my lockdown, they'd be welcome to set up a tent outside the circle... So long as they didn't leave the area and head to town, I'd allow them in after a period of observation. In this scenario, I think it would be possible to isolate yourself against an Human to Human disease. I have enough stuff here to support those in the circle for awhile. Now, the cons to this scenario. Insects, birds, and other animals would not recognize nor respect my circle... So what's the chance of them bringing in the very bug I want to keep out? Do I really have enough inside to sustain us during the outbreak? How long do major plagues keep circling at the door? We also talked of a disinfecting station for goods being brought in. A dunk trough for sanitizing. I'm getting ready to start a very scary book on the 1918 Spanish Flu. It's worth a shot
PBS is having a series called RX for Survival... several nites and hours long..... last night I was watching.... Mosquitos, flies, parasites.... it was talking about all the vectors for some of the third worlds and even the US deseases.... I forgot about Mosquitos.... oh well.... we had a scare here a few years back... probably that whole West Nile scare.... Hawaii was trying to eradicate mosquitos like crazy.... I got mosquito nets for all the rooms and fixed up all the screens.... I have extra yards of screen material in my preps because after a hurricane there probably won't be any screens left.... got spray to load up the sprayer with and spray around the house and plants.....anyway my point is it doesn't hurt to think these things through.... hey I got my "prepping" start after Hurricane Iniki devastated Kauai.... got real serious about hurricane preps.... since then... 1991... I can think of all manner of events and scares that my Hurricane preps would have helped with... then just added them along the way..... the best tool for survival or crisis is between your ears folks.... yeah Tamiflu may or may not be the end all to the Avian Flu... but its still a flu medicine and the flu still kills an awful lot of people every year..... it doesn't hurt to think through the possibilities and stock a few supplies.... I figure the Virkon S I buy will still be useful to wash down after the dogs and prevent any problems with them.... its all good... It was interesting, I saw a post on one of the other forums where a bunch of folks were standing in line for the normal flu shot.... when they found out it wasn't for the Avian Flu a whole bunch of them left the line.... There's alot of misinformation out there... I wonder how many think that just because they got the flu shot that they don't have to worry about the avian flu?..... there's a rude awakening coming IF this thing goes Human to Human in a big way.... I see various governments making billion dollar plans and everyday you see this on the tube and in the press yet they are still telling people not to worry or panic but that they should prepare for possible quarantines and travel restrictions.... I worry that there is more to worry about than they are saying.... A panic would be baaaaaaaad...... a nice calm educated meeting of the minds is a good thing and I'm glad Melbo is starting it here..... JMHO..... Bear
Here's a link to a good start for those that are interested.... http://www.curevents.com/vb/showthread.php?t=17139
One thing that would be a problem with the lock down for most of us would be the fact that the rest of the world wouldnt stop. While there would be some kaos the bank and such still is going to want thier money and if you have a mortgage and not enouph saveings to pay it for a year or so then you would likely be haveing your property forclosed on before the flu would pass. From what I was hearing on a program the other day these things generaly go in waves and the first wave would likely last 3 or 4 months at least then take a down turn for a while and another surge at around 6 months, with ups and downs you could be looking at a year or more at least and it would take at least 5 or 6 months to START getting a vacine out for the specific strain. Limiting contact as much as possible would be the biggest thing you could do but if you dont have a lot of saveings they be ready for going primitive since the utilities are not going to be worried about why you didnt pay the bill and if you have a mortgage the bank wont care why they havent been paid. That said other considerations on how to make money from home or with as little humane contact as possible may be a good thing to consider. Another thing to keep in mind if you do have to keep doing business in that kind of situation is to use checks as much as possible and have lots of small bills and change ahead of time. If you deal in cash and get change how sure are you the person who passed those coins and bills to the store wasnt there to get things to make them feel better due to thier flu and sneezed in thier hand as they handed over the money? If you are swipeing a card the machine could also be contaminated, so the best bet is to hand them your payment in a way you will not be getting anything back. Just a couple of thoughts.
If it gets that bad they can have what ever im paying on, Im living in the mnts till its over. If you get sick, and cant work how do you pay for it?
I can see your point, I was just thinking like from my own situation where my farm is the only place I would have to be unless I was gonna go and try squatting on someone elses land which I dont think would be very healthy iether, and if I was to get say 90 days behind I'ld loose the farm. So for me, and I would imagine for a lot of other folks, it would be a matter of takeing your chances working pretty much as usual, find a way to make money from home, or end up with nothing and pitched out in the middle of the mess cause when the bank wants you out they just get a judge to sign off on it then send in the boys in blue.
If it gets that bad, I don't think you'd have to worry about the bank folks for a long time. If say, 50million started to die, the rest could crumble and then would go the Economy, Power, etc. I was talking long term TEOTWAWKI in that comment...
