Bird flu spreading rapidly; U.S. government warns population

Thursday, March 02, 2006 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: health news, Natural News, nutrition

The news on bird flu just keeps getting worse. The virus has now reportedly jumped species and infected a cat in Germany. One infected cat by itself does not equal a pandemic, but it does demonstrate how easily this virus can jump species, potentially infecting humans in the near future.

Bird flu is right now spreading more rapidly than anyone could have guessed six months ago. The virus has now infected poultry farms in France, and chicken consumption is already down 30 percent in that country. The virus is soon expected to reach the U.K.

A recent poll conducted in the U.S. by the Harvard School of Public Health reveals that if a bird flu outbreak hits the U.S. population, an astounding 68% of the population will stay home and skip their jobs. (Similar behavior is expected across Europe, although the number might not be exactly the same.)

This means that a bird flu outbreak in humans can be expected to cause massive infrastructure disruptions as the people who keep the national infrastructure running stop coming to work. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if 2/3rds of the truck drivers and train conductors across the country just stayed home. Think about it: no deliveries of fuel, food, car parts, industrial chemicals, livestock feed or even coal for power plants.

The situation could be far worse than most people realize. The virus isn't the only threat: It's the infrastructure failures that are also a huge concern.

Already, sales of our bird flu book (How to Beat the Bird Flu) are rapidly accelerating to readers in Europe. This book teaches you not only how to protect yourself from bird flu infections, but also how to survive the temporary shutdown of essential infrastructure services (water, power, fuel, food, police, hospitals, etc.) that are bound to accompany any human outbreak of the disease. It is essential to get this book ahead of the crowd, because preparedness can't be done as a last-minute project.

Bird flu is coming, says HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt

Make no mistake, bird flu is coming. Just this week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt warned that the bird flu virus infecting U.S. birds was, "only a matter of time." It's unusual for the U.S. government to so blatantly acknowledge such a threat, but perhaps the reason is because Washington knows it can't possibly rescue the entire population from a pandemic. Individuals and families are on their own, according to the U.S. government's document, "National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza" (NSPI), which encourages people to start preparing for infrastructure disruptions. That same document also deliberately says that you should not rely on the government to save you.

Most of the U.S. public, of course, has done nothing to prepare. When an outbreak is actually reported in the mainstream media, this lack of preparedness will inevitably lead to panic runs on face masks, antiviral medicines (including herbal tinctures), and even basic supplies like water and sleeping bags (to keep warm when the heat is gone). The very best antiviral medicines that I recommend in the book -- ones that are far more effective than Tamiflu at killing various viral strains -- will be rapidly sold out. During a bird flu outbreak, these will probably be selling on eBay for $250 a bottle. I show you where to get them today for 1/10th that price, $25 a bottle from a reputable source. (As always, I have no financial involvement with this recommendation. I list them for your benefit, not mine.)

What will you eat if the food deliveries are disrupted?

Did you realize there's almost no buffer of food in the food distribution channels in the United States? Grocery stores only stock enough items for 2-3 days of typical sales. In a panic run on food, where supplies are not being replenished by trucks, expect the supplies to be wiped out in a single day. With bird flu now spreading like wildfire throughout the bird populations of the globe, and with some of the world's top virologists saying they are astonished at the aggressiveness of this virus, if you aren't preparing right now for infrastructure failures, I believe you're putting yourself and your family at risk.

Every family, regardless of bird flu, should be able to live at least two weeks without outside supplies. And yet most U.S. households couldn't live two DAYS without municipal water and electricity.

We are a nation that is literally one meal away from a panic. If the food stops, all bets are off. Think Hurricane Katrina multiplied by a hundred cities and you'll get some idea of what could unfold. Martial Law is not out of the question.

I truly dislike describing such horrifying scenarios. I much prefer to talk about staying healthy, preventing disease, and enhancing quality of life through nutrition and natural medicine. But when a threat this large is on the horizon, I cannot ignore it. I would be irresponsible in my role as a communicator if I did not express the urgency of the need to prepare against what may become the most deadly human pandemic we've ever seen. This is not science fiction; it's biological fact.

Sadly, the near-total lack of preparedness I see at the household, community, city, state and federal levels is the most frightening thing of all. This nation, and its people, are setting themselves for absolute disaster if bird flu becomes a human pandemic. Maybe we'll all get lucky and this virus will be beaten back. But that's clearly a roll of the dice, with stakes too high to gamble with (human lives) if you ask me.

Why I'm not gambling with my life

I am not a gambler. I don't play the slots at Vegas, I don't buy lottery tickets, and I don't gamble with the safety of my readers when it comes to telling the truth about the bird flu virus. The truth is that this virus is one mutation away from becoming a global pandemic that could kill tens of millions of people around the globe. And yet most people do nothing to prepare.

Do not be caught unprepared. Start preparing right now, even if it means just filling empty 2-liter bottles with water and storing those in a closet. Remember, you'll need 2 - 3 gallons of water PER DAY per person just to survive. How much water do you have stored right now?

The wrong thing to do is nothing. Do not let this "pre-panic" opportunity for calm preparedness slip by. Stay ahead of the crowd. Beat the rush. Start preparing today, just in case. It's like insurance. You buy insurance for your car. You buy it for your house or belongings. And if you're like most people, you probably even buy insurance for your body (health insurance). Insuring yourself against infectious disease only makes sense. Preparedness is cheap, but being caught unprepared can literally cost you your life.

If this is all a false alarm, and bird flu never becomes contagious in humans, then you've wasted nothing, because now you're prepared for anything: Hurricanes, floods, power grid failures, tornados, earthquakes and civil unrest (LA Riots, remember?).

In other words, there's no downside to preparing. But failure to prepare could literally jeopardize your life (and the safety of your family). Besides, the U.S. government has already blatantly said it can't help you (read the NSPI report yourself to see). Don't even think of hoping to be saved by the National Guard. There simply won't be enough medicine, water or food to go around unless the outbreak is contained to a few local regions.

Fortunately, preparing is affordable and simple to do if you plan ahead. And once you're prepared, you can rest easy, confident that you are fully equipped to survive whatever natural disasters the world throws your way. It will make you feel safer and more secure. Don't be scared, be prepared!