U.S. Could Restrict Travel to Prevent Flu

[IChing]

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer





WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sustained person-to-person spread of the bird flu or any other super-influenza strain anywhere in the world could prompt the United States to implement travel restrictions or other steps to block a brewing pandemic, say federal plans released Wednesday.

If a super-flu begins spreading here, states and cities will have to ration scarce medications and triage panicked patients to prevent them from overwhelming hospitals and spreading infection inside emergency rooms, the plan says.

It provides long-awaited guidance to the front-line local officials urging them to figure out now how they would take steps to prevent such a crisis scenario - and exhorts officials to practice their own plans to make sure they'll work.>>>snip

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH_FLU?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-11-02-10-23-51

[Bloodblister Bob]

1. Fear Fear Fear Fear Fear Fear Fear Fear...etc. n/t

[Crayson]

23. Divide and Conquer

... oh... and Distract !

[afdip]

2. maybe if avian flu was detected in iraq, the busheviks

would be required to bring the troops home.:sarcasm:

[Theres-a]

9. I wondered that,seriously.

I believe that would be quite a dilemma for the chimperor,if there was a case of H5N1 in Iraq.

[havocmom]

13. Already reported in north west Iraq

Some poultry in Kurdish area reported to have contracted the flu.

[murray hill farm]

16. i thought i read that...

it was found in migrating birds in canada...if so...those same birds migrate over the usa.......sooooooooooo, if a outbread occurs, it is certainly possible that it will originate...person to person...in the usa. in that case, do they lock us in????????????? No one allowed to travel outside of the usa? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm???

[symbolman]

3. It's unConstitutional

and in reality it's called MARTIAL LAW.

[IChing]

8. No it is not, according to new existing presidential orders and CDC rules

The law was changed with the patriot act and other executive orders
see this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2213019

[symbolman]

15. I'm sorry but I INSIST (for my own sanity) that the CONSTITUTION

IS the LAW.

Nothing precludes or diminishes it's basis as the LAW of this LAND.

No edicts or Exec orders can VOID it's basic common RULE.

WE MUST REFUSE to accept anything that Deviates from our CONSTITUTION.

the Constitution IS AMERICA and it IS the LAW.

Bush cannot issue exec orders as HE IS NOT THE PRESIDENT. IMHO the TROOPS SHOULD REFUSE HIS ORDERS AS HE IS NOT the CINC.

They will NOT Quarter Troops in MY HOME, they will NOT impede my movement and my will to achieve LIFE, LIBERTY and the Pursuit of Happiness..

They can pry the Constitution from my COLD, DEAD FINGERS...

[Critters2]

21. I agree!

I keep telling anyone who'll listen that there is NO PROVISION for martial law in the Constitution. It simply is NOT an option. Spread the word!! We still have a Constitution!!! It is still the law of the land!!!

:patriot:

[IChing]

25. I agree but needed to point out what has been set up for this in 2002

It is total bullshit, unless you are Rumsfeld $$$$,

[Wind Dancer]

22. This is extremely disturbing.

They will use the bird flu as an excuse to isolate us from family and friends, be prepared. Why else would they be making these statements so far in advance?

More from article:

And Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he doesn't trust the administration's assessment of the nation's health care needs and demanded that Leavitt provide more information about its response to the evolving bird flu.

"Could we have acted sooner to avoid the situation we are in now, in effect running for cover?" he said. "We need a better way of finding out what the hell is going on."

[Talismom]

26. Smoke screen, obfuscation, don't think about Plamegate, Iraq dead,

etc. Fear--just fear and believe that Big Daddy will take care of you if your good and obedient!

:hide:

[truebrit71]

4. Hmmm...as the "pandemic" spreads, the "undesirables" are rounded up...

..by the miltary (per *'s new plans) and no-one else can get out because the borders will be closed...


Remind me, which country is this?

Grab your stuff, it's time to go...

[adigal]

7. My question is who is going to round up

the "undesirables"? Really. The military is otherwise engaged, the National Guards are spread so thin, local authorities cannot "round up" everyone and the CIA are busy torturing suspects in the former Soviet Union.

I think that it is not realistic to worry about this at this time.

[leesa]

5. Please be afraid at all times. We desire your docility and it makes

Rummy rich. Thank you.

What a bunch of crap this is...what's the pandemic toll now, 60?

[ixion]

6. note the link 'BUSH_FLU'

a Freudian slip? The truth behind this latest scare tactic leaking out?

[Theres-a]

10. BUSH_FLU

Perfect.

[MindPilot]

12. Bush Flu .. now there's a pandemic to fear n/t

[Timmy5835]

11. Let's put this into prospective

Dr. Arnold S. Monto, an epidemioloigist at the University of Michigan say the chances of a H5N1 pandemic is about 5%. So quit watching cable news.

[Bridget Burke]

17. But even Dr Monto says "we need to be ready"

www.hon.ch/News/HSN/523574.html

The message from this latest report is that people need to be ready, Monto said. "We would suppose that the virus would not be as efficient in transmitting early on. This is a hypothesis, but there's a lot of evidence that this might be the case," he said. "This would give us an opportunity to try to snuff it out at its source." To that end, Monto said, there needs to be a global stockpile of antivirals (some countries are already doing this), as well as a plan for distribution to areas where an outbreak occurs.

A vaccine is also needed. "When it comes to avian flu, everybody is like a child," Monto said, referring to the fact that humans have no immunity to the virus. "Maybe we should be using a vaccine for H5N1 in people even though it wouldn't be exactly like the virus that might come along. At least this would prime us so that we'd have a better response."

Although such a pandemic might never occur, Monto said, "the message is that we need to be ready."

So, even if your statement is accurate, he agrees with Bush that the Fed needs to send more money to companies that produce antivirals & vaccines--even if a real vaccine is not yet ready.

Arnold S. Monto has served as a consultant for Chiron Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline, MedImmune Inc., Roche Laboratories, Inc., and Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc and has received grant/research support from Sanofi Pasteur.

www.powerpak.com/index.asp?page=courses/105132/disclaimer.htm&lsn_id=105132

A flu pandemic is a real possibility--sooner or later. But Bush & Co are planning exactly the wrong response.

[raccoon]

19. Thank you, thank you, Timmy5835 nt

[havocmom]

14. Been saying for 2 years: Corporations need an new Iron Curtain,

this time around the US, to keep Americans ignorant about what is happening with all the outsourcing and international agri-business. Also need to keep the rest of the world ignorant about what will be happening here. It ain't gonna be pretty, folks, our slide to third world status.

In lieu of the fact that bush has that timber business he forgot about at that debate, this might be a Hard Wood Curtain, but it is coming. It has to be for the war criminals to remain in power and continue to turn US Treasury $$ to rich pals while citizens starve or freeze.

If you have wall paper, you might wanna look into what it and the glue are made of, it may become an important survival trick for some of us.

[prodigal_green]

18. Unless they plan on zapping every migrating bird

I'm not quite sure how this will help...

[UKCynic]

32. It won't help

The human strain of bird flu will come from those who live with and handle living and dead birds, mostly chickens and probably in SE Asia. It will then spread round the world by human to human transition. It may not be from H5N1, it may not be this decade, but it will come.

The poultry industry however has an interest in preventing their flock from catching H5N1 from migrating birds.

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/

[donkeyotay]

20. anyone remember swine flu? It was all the rage. It never materialized.

Or, for that matter, whatever happened to West Nile or SARS? Say, whatever happened to that anthrax investigation? Anyone feel safer knowing that bush's response is always the same - more power and more tax dollars to his base, money that gets kicked back in the elections?

[ForPeace]

24. War on bird flu!

Here we go again - another war - this time on bird flu. This will justify more cracking down on our rights, and more spending to help Bush cronies. If we spend $7 billion on this year's flu virus, won't we have to do it again each time a different strain is found - another perpetual war.

[newyawker99]

27. Hi ForPeace!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Pachamama]

28. Restrict who? Those coming or those going?

:eyes:

[Marie26]

29. You liberals think you can go to Canada? n/t

[Pachamama]

30. You think this is how they would want to stop us?

:shrug:

This one is counting on being able go North....what's a little flu threat?

[Marie26]

33. Nah, not really

They'd probably be pretty happy if we all left! Less Democrats to worry about. It was just a flippant comment - I've threatened to go to Canada & I've heard other people say the same thing. It seems to be the escape route people think of if stuff gets too bad.

[Pachamama]

36. All the Canadians we know are expecting all of us to start heading north..

They just keep wondering how bad it needs to get here before we either have a Revolution or start heading North. Either way, they are just watching us stunned and in disbelief. But fortunately for all of us, they seem to want us to come North....plenty of space.... :hi:

PS: My husband and I are not kidding about looking North...In case you're ever not joking, go here:

http://www.mls.ca

[Carolab]

31. How are they going to stop the birds from migrating?

This is so obvious.

What with RFID chips in passports looming...what do you THINK they are doing here?

Building the Prison Planet.

*******

WHO (World Health Organization) says this:

Do migratory birds spread highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses?

The role of migratory birds in the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza is not fully understood. Wild waterfowl are considered the natural reservoir of all influenza A viruses. They have probably carried influenza viruses, with no apparent harm, for centuries. They are known to carry viruses of the H5 and H7 subtypes, but usually in the low pathogenic form. Considerable circumstantial evidence suggests that migratory birds can introduce low pathogenic H5 and H7 viruses to poultry flocks, which then mutate to the highly pathogenic form.

In the past, highly pathogenic viruses have been isolated from migratory birds on very rare occasions involving a few birds, usually found dead within the flight range of a poultry outbreak. This finding long suggested that wild waterfowl are not agents for the onward transmission of these viruses.

Recent events make it likely that some migratory birds are now directly spreading the H5N1 virus in its highly pathogenic form. Further spread to new areas is expected.

[BiggJawn]

34. Lots of firepower

A string of these puppies on the Mexican and Canadian borders, manned by dedicated "Minutemen"...

The first volley will be fired by Sec. of War Donald "Death is GOOD" Rumsferatu.

[BiggJawn]

35. Want to guess HOW tight the restrictions would be?

I'm thinking that you will not be allowed to enter or leave the City Limits of wherever you live.

And when the food runs out? Oh, well, what the Hell...