Britain's Contingency Plan vs. H5N1 Pandemic

Mass burials are being considered by the Home Office as part of contingency plans for a possible avian flu pandemic.

A "prudent worst case" assessment suggested that 320,000 could die in Britain if the H5N1 virus mutated into a form contagious between humans, according to a confidential report.

The paper - said to have been discussed by a Cabinet committee - said that the huge number of deaths would lead to delays of up to 17 weeks in burying or cremating victims. It warned that the prospect of "common burial" would stir up images of the mass pits used to bury victims of the Great Plague in 1665.
Mass graves planned if bird flu pandemic reaches Britain

Media 'Doom' sensationalism or truth?
Consider this before answering:

By now you've probably already heard some of the world's top scientists whispering that Avian flu is a giant hoax. This while other scientists are predicting that "200 million people could die in the U.S. with 200,000 dying for sure from a cataclysmic bird flu pandemic that will bring Western civilization to its knees." As usual the media are willing dupes on the scare story--big-time. But when I witnessed the President's plans for preparing for the disaster, I had to shudder--this is going to be the greatest pharmaceutical rip-off of all time.

It's all about the money. Imagine--guaranteed purchases, guaranteed new contracts, tax incentives, no product viability needed, and total immunity from product liability! This is a pharmaceutical company's dream come true. And even better--it is the opportunity of a lifetime--a vaccine for EVERY PERSON ON EARTH!

The backbone of the plan starts with 20 million doses of the Tamiflu vaccine which is barely effective at treating regular flu, and will most likely be useless against the bird flu strain (H5N1). What it will do is garner about $100 a poke, or a $2 BILLION GIVEAWAY, paid for--you guessed it--by you and me. And the kicker is that thanks to our friends in the U.S. senate, senate bill S. 1873 is out of committee and ready to be voted into law.

The Bird Flu: Avian Epidemics--From the article: The Bird Flu Giant Money-Grab

Accordingly, using Britain's numbers as a proportional guide, proportional 'rough' estimates for the US would place the number that would die from infection at roughly 1.3-1.6 million.

Thoughts?






seekerof

Are mass burials a contingency plan or a consequence of the lack of contingancy plans?

This pretty much sums up the problem with Western medicine, they'd have us believe a cure is better than prevention... well, a stitch in time saves nine.

For the vaccinations to be effective wouldn't they have to have been administered a while back? Also, why are we buying all this Tamiflu that isn't even a cure for bird flu, does Mr. X. Bush/Blair/'Labour funder' own the company that makes it?

This is making me uber-angry, so gonna walk away...

Viva la revolution...

Originally posted by byhiniur
Are mass burials a contingency plan or a consequence of the lack of contingancy plans?

Good point.

For the vaccinations to be effective wouldn't they have to have been administered a while back? Also, why are we buying all this Tamiflu that isn't even a cure for bird flu...

What the second article is asserting is that the H5N1 or Avian Flu is a hoax, created to put money in the pockets of pharmaceutical company's.






seekerof

Originally posted by SeekerofWhat the second article is asserting is that the H5N1 or Avian Flu is a hoax, created to put money in the pockets of pharmaceutical company's.

...which filters into Donald Rumsfeld's pockets ....

Donald Rumsfeld has made a killing out of bird flu. The US Defence Secretary has made more than $5m (£2.9m) in capital gains from selling shares in the biotechnology firm that discovered and developed Tamiflu, the drug being bought in massive amounts by Governments to treat a possible human pandemic of the disease.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

On Tuesday, Bush requested $7.1 billion from Congress to address a potentially catastrophic (at least, so they say, who knows?) flu outbreak in the United States, at least $1.2 billion of those funds would go directly to toward Tamiflu production.

could this be the test simulation think obout it when did the test start 7 days ago ? when did the swan die 7 days ago herm...

[edit on 6-4-2006 by leejones]

As grim as it sounds, mass graves may be the only responce to a huge outbreak at any case. If we get to that point, most will not have time to care but be rather focused on the finer points of staying alive.

While it is unsavory to think that loved ones will be simply dumped or incinerated, it may be the ONLY way to get rid of thousands of dead infected bodies if this becomes a real killer.

Can you imagine a H2H outbreak that has a 50-90 percent mortality rate in say New York City or the Los Angeles Basin? You have to do soemthing with the bodies.

Building off of Fred's point, the bird flu or any other pandemic will pale in comparison if it takes out more people than can be buried at a time, continues to run rampant, while at the same time the disease caused from the rotting dead in the streets kills even more. Cities would be wiped off the map as everyone either died or left to get away from the dead.

While this contingency plan is stark, it is probably a good idea to have a plan for it. Granted, it should not be the primary plan, but as a fall back in the even that other plans to stop the epidemic from spreading fail.

As to the hoax idea, of course that theory's out there. If an epidemic breaks out, if you follow the money trail, of course pharmaceutical companies will profit more than anyone else. Does that mean it's a hoax, though? Not necessarily. Epidemics have plagued humanity and every other living thing on earth for ages. Just because we may have an effective way to combat it that we didn't 50 years ago doesn't mean that it is being staged.

Is heart surgery a hoax because doctors make money on them, or do doctors make money because heart surgery is necessary?

What happened to SARS? Where did it go? Does anyone still get it, or has it simply disappeared?

I seem to remember talk of mass graves then.