Skeptics warn bird flu fears are overblown

[wordpix]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12358223/wid/11915773/

Chicken Little alert? Hysteria could sap money from worse health threats

By Rebecca Cook Dube
Special to MSNBC.com
Updated: 2:49 p.m. ET April 20, 2006

Doomsday predictions about bird flu seem to be spreading faster than the virus itself. But a small group of skeptics say the bird flu hype is overblown and ultimately harmful to the public’s health.

There’s no guarantee bird flu will become a pandemic, and if it does there’s no guarantee it will kill millions of people. The real trouble, these skeptics say, is that bird flu hysteria is sapping money and attention away from more important health threats.

“I have a bunch of patients coming in here who are more worried about bird flu than they are about heart disease,” said Dr. Marc Siegel, an internist and associate professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine. “The fear is out of proportion to the current risk.”

more....
(I wonder how many BushCo members are invested in bird flu vaccine companies)

[porphyrian]

1. These people are right.

The corporate media has blown this way out of proportion, just like killer bees and y2k. If you are very young, very old or have a weakened or supressed immune system, then ANY flu or virus is potentially fatal. Everyone else is more likely to die in their daily commute than by bird flu.

[BOSSHOG]

5. The daily commute

analogy only works when you are comparing the Soldiers killed in Iraq by bush's ineptness, therefore the soldier's deaths are not that significant. Don't you listen to right wing spinners?

And no doubt there is a connection between Saddam Hussein and the bird flu.

[porphyrian]

8. Saddam bought bird flu from North Korea and hid it in Iran.

I mean, that much is clear. I'm a little worried about your insinuation that bush has ineptness. The President receives very good national health care, and has certainly received his ineptness vaccination this year. Do you know something we haven't been told we know on TV?

[BOSSHOG]

2. Why do you hate America?

It is our responsibility to scare all Americans. Fear is the glue that holds the bush base together (with an incredibly large helping of hate.)

The bird flu fear changed everything. We must be scared before the birds turn into a mushroom cloud.

Weapons of Avarian Destruction. No doubt evil doers have released them.

The bush administration reduced to a punch line.

[prodigal_green]

3. Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.

Face it, the poor nations and the poor of this nation will be the ones hit hardest when a new pandemic hits--whether it is bird flu or some other highly infectious disease. Recent American and world health organization reports have indicated that the U.S. government and the corporatocracy are woefully underprepared for a pandemic, so rather than have a discussion about that and the sorry state of healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry, the MSM would rather tell us that there is nothing to worry about.

I think if 9-11 and Katrina taught us anything it is prepare for the worst, hope for the best (and stock up on clean water).

[MikeNearMcChord]

4. No Sh** Sherlock!(not directed at you ,Wordpix)

How many have died so far, 100? 200? A thousand? Out of a population of Billions? Just so Rummy the Dummy's Tamiflu can make money?

[BOSSHOG]

6. And no doubt right around the corner

is another crisis we will have to contend with on a global scale. Fear mongering coming to a pulpit near you.

[louis-t]

7. Think "swine flu"

How many here are old enough to remember? I think it was the '80's. Never materialized.

[Democrats_win]

10. Swine flu was Fords mistake. Some people got sick cuz of the vaccine.

[gkhouston]

14. it was the winter of '76-'77

I got the flu that year, and had a fever for a week. I hope H5N1 is another "swine flu" but I don't believe that for a single minute.

[CoffeeCat]

9. Unfortunately, since our government is full of shineola...

...each and every person in this country MUST decide whether or not bird flu
is a threat. If someone determines that bird flu may become a threat--then that person is
forced to chose the best course of action/protection for themselves and their family.

The truth is--we do not know what will happen. The virus may mutate into a form that can be
transmissible from human-human. Then again, it might not.

Unfortunately, our government doesn't give a rip about disseminating rational, fact-based information. We get a steady dose of fear mongering.

The reality is--this could evolve into a pandemic. People need to do their own research and determine what is best for yourself and your families.

Please--do not let ANYTHING BushCo spews--affect your actions or your opinions. Do your own research. Be proactive.

I've done a lot of research. I'm not an expert, by any means. However, I'm smart enough to know that BushCo is full of hot air. In my opinion, it is likely that the virus could mutate into a strain that will pass from human to human. I'm making the decision to be prepared, because I know that if a worse-case scenario does happen--I do not want to become someone who is caught off guard--standing on the freeway with a "Help me!" sign, begging for an air drop of water and peanut butter.

Please people--do your own research. Do not dismiss this as BushCo fear mongering. I'm not saying that a catastrophic pandemic is coming for sure. However, it's within the realm of reality.

Be proactive. Take care of yourself. Make your own decisions and don't allow BushCo's misguided fear mongering affect you in any way.

If Junior announced that a catastrophic hurricane was likely--and he began fear mongering and declaring martial law--that doesn't mean a hurricane won't happen. It just means that we have a pResident who will exploit ANY opportunity he can to screw us and foist fascism on all of us. Reason enough to dig out the truth/facts for yourself.

[Kailassa]

13. Exactly, take sensible precautions, then forget about it.

The simplest precautions are to make sure your household has a supply of water and food for a few weeks,
and a stash of disposable rubber gloves and face-masks. However face-masks can be a source of infection if not used correctly. One has to do one's research.

The next good precaution is a place to wash hands where you don't have to touch taps with your hands.

I was reading statistics on germy stuff, and the germiest things people tend to come in contact with are the handles of shopping trolleys, these, to my surprise, having more bugs than the flush buttons in public toilets. This is why I advocate rubber gloves during epidemics. But you need to learn how to remove them without touching the outsides.

None of this entails panic, it's just a bit of education and some precautions that make one safer from all sorts of disasters. And if none happen, you can happily pat yourself on the back, putting that down to the "umbrella effect."

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. Bird flu or not, there will be a pandemic. It may be next year

or twenty years from now, but it will happen.

Rational people will prepare for it in the small ways they can. Irrational people will go off the deep end and respond in terror to every little bug that pops up.

Luck favors the prepared.

[MercutioATC]

15. Bravo! You get it!

:toast:

There's a pretty large middle ground between "panic" and "complete denial". Staying informed and being prepared is good advice in ANY situation. A pandemic is not all hype...it WILL happen again. The most reasonable course of action, to me, is to stay informed and be prepared.

[NotGivingUp]

12. Rumsfeld is making tons of money off of bird flu scare tactics.