by: John Hart
Most dictionaries define pandemic as "an epidemic that is geographically widespread; occurring throughout a region or even throughout the world."
Recently, Klaus Stohr, the coordinator of the global infuenza program at the World Health Organization predicted a bird flu pandemic that would take more lives than the Spanish Flu of 1918 wherein 20-to-40 million perished.
He wasn't the only expert who pressed the panic button.
United States Health and Human Secretary, Tommy Thompson, said "This is a bomb that could impact the world."
Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia, issued a warning to physicians to be on the lookout for symptoms of the avian influenza virus known as H5N1.
Even CIDRAP, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota is alarmed. They have this statement posted on their webiste: "If the next pandemic strain is highly virulent (such as the 1918 strain) the global death toll could be dramatic."
The current fatality rate in Southeast Asia is 73%.
Now for the really bad news.
There is no vaccine available. And there won't be for months. Probably six-to-twelve months. Maybe longer. Clinical trials take time. Usually a year. Then once it's available, the vaccine must be distributed worldwide. A logistical nightmare.
So what can you do to protect yourself and your family?
Three steps. And they should be done now, while the winds of pandemic are blowing in Southeast Asia.
You can wait for your government to come up with a solution to protect you, or you can become proactive. My family has already taken the three steps outlined above, I hope you will too.