Bird Flu; Panic or Prudence?

ATeam · Nov 3, 2005

What, if anything, are expediters doing in response to the influenza pandemic threat now being talked up in the news? If the pandemic described by health experts actually occurs, how would it affect your business? If the pandemic strikes, and if you survive the flu, will your business survive too?

I didn't give this much thought until I read the http://www.pandemicflu.gov web site.

Now I'm wondering if respirator masks will be readily available and if travel restrictions will apply to expediters if the pandemic actually does hit. Would we want to run at all, or would it be best to stay home and be safe by minimizing contact with others? Maybe business will boom because reefer trucks will be in high demand (haul medicine). Or maybe business will bust because the global economy will suffer a major reduction in the work force and there will be little freight to haul.

Your thoughts please?

greg334 · Nov 3, 2005

My thoughts?

Well it is like this, what the world faces is a virus.

Viruses propagate in large populations that are living in dirty and dense areas.

Viruses are so small that they will easily pass through any mask (even some respirator masks and many types of rubber products can’t stop viruses).

Viruses mutate to survive, so the immunity that you got from that vaccine a few weeks ago MAY not help with a mutation of the virus that the vaccine was to protect you against.

Protection against a virus? Not likely that you can totally protect yourself against an airborne virus, but you can lessen your chances to getting sick.

Here are a few realistic pieces of advice.

Wash your hands

Wash/Wipe your hands periodically. On the market (it is not easy to find) there is a gelled alcohol product that you can wipe you hands with, we used it in the labs. You have to use a hand moisturizer after because it sucks the moisture out of your skin. It is not the crappy soap you can buy at the store which does nothing for you. Even though you use the gelled alcohol product, you still need to wash your hands to “clean” them.

Be careful where you eat, even the best restaurants have someone who doesn’t wash their hands or works when they have the flu or cold. I have had to deal with waitresses who handle money and my food (with her fingers in my food as she served it) and I simply tell them I am from the health department, get your manager and then B**** out the manger.

Wash you hands

Avoid crowds.

For those who keep a messy truck with month old hamburgers. Clean your truck.

Oh yea, wash your hands.

Our government health officials have not yet tackled other viruses, like AIDS so I expect these guys this time to drop the ball again and many people will get sick and/or die.

Also as I did work in the world of pharmaceuticals, as dark of a world as it is, I learned that there are things that governments can do and won’t do.

Now this is personal opinion and I think most of you will agree; if this world is faced with death in mass, wouldn’t you think that many governments would force companies like Roche and GSK to produce as much vaccine as possible for cost so to protect their people. They won’t!

In the US, like almost every other country (except China) almost every drug has a patent and the governments all have the power to take patents for national security, the US took over 400 patents and made them secret during WW2. I say tell the companies that don’t cooperate that most if not all their patents will become public domain and you will see a big change in their attitude.

On last thing, if influenza would strike it would be an epidemic, not a pandemic. The only pandemic we actually had in the last 500 years has been the 1918-1920 Spanish influenza. By definition, a pandemic would have to affect most of the population with serious sickness and death. THsu could turn into a Pandemic if our goverments don't act. I just hate it when they try to scare us with the wrong words.

tiredofsittn · Nov 3, 2005

i think one of those trashy chicken haulers already gave it to me, i dont feel so well

Broompilot · Nov 3, 2005

There are thousands of things to WORRY about. Does it do any good? I ask Do you have any control over this? I do not think so and if everyone gets sick or even 20% is it air borne or spread thruogh contact.

Society will not work at all if its as dangerious as described and our industry is not gona make or break society. If it really happens to many items out of our control and the media loves nothing more than to scare the (%^*&@@ out of us blowing just about everything out of proportion.

TheGoodGuy · Nov 6, 2005

Well as of today your odds of getting hit by lightning are higher, than contracting Avian Flu in the United states.

And no...the sky is not falling.....

tiredofsittn · Nov 6, 2005

you know i eat at a lot of asian places, im just wondering do they buy their chicken here or do they get it shipped here from overseas.they really use alot of chicken.i really dont feel to well, i hope it aint like that old movie i think called airplane where they start spitting up eggs and doing the chicken dance.

Broompilot · Nov 6, 2005

>you know i eat at a lot of asian places, im just wondering
>.i really
>dont feel to well, i hope it aint like that old movie i
>think called airplane where they start spitting up eggs and
>doing the chicken dance.

Better start building a nest, chicks are ready to start hatching...