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| Britain |
| Mass graves fear in bird flu attack |
| 2006-04-02 |
| Mass burials are being considered by the Home Office as part of preparations for a possible avian flu pandemic. A "prudent worst case" assessment suggested 320,000 people could die in Britain if the H5N1 virus mutated into a form contagious to humans, according to a confidential report seen by the Sunday Times. That would lead to delays of up to 17 weeks in burying or cremating victims, the document - said to have been discussed by a cabinet committee - says. It warns that the prospect of "common burial" would stir up images of the mass pits used to bury victims of the Great Plague in 1665. But in fact it "might involve a large number of coffins buried in the same place at the same time, in such a way that allowed for individual graves to be marked". Town halls - the report suggests - could deal with what it terms a "base case" of 48,000 deaths in England and Wales in a 15-week pandemic. But it adds: "Even with ramping local management capacity by 100%, the prudent worst case of 320,000 excess deaths is projected to lead to a delay of some 17 weeks from death to burial or cremation." Should the outbreak kill 2.5% of those who contract the flu, it warns, "no matter what emergency arrangements are put in place there are likely to be substantially more deaths than can be managed within current timescales". Bird flu has already forced the slaughter of millions of birds across three continents since the deadly H5N1 strain emerged three years ago. More than 100 humans have also been killed by it - all people who had been in close contact with infected birds. A pandemic would only become a possibility if the strain was able to mutate into a form that could be spread between humans. I'm surprised a company like Caterpillar hasn't already made a heavy piece of equipment designed just to quickly dig and liner a lot of individual graves. There are several that are close, but they aren't fast enough. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #8 6: Oh, god yes. Unburied bodies are a nightmare in the case of certain epidemics. Otherwise, they are just really stinky and nasty and breed insects like there is no tomorrow--also a good reason to bury them quickly. They are also far more difficult to handle once decomposition starts to work, with both the body digesting itself and bacteria going to work. If properly buried in a plastic body bag, they will be a lot more identifiable as needs be, for a lot longer. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-04-02 22:11 |
| #7 The important thing is to bury the bodies as quickly as possible, before you get a major disease outbreak. ? |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-02 20:31 |
| #6 A Vermeer trencher would do. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2006-04-02 16:34 |
| #5 Well, I was figuring that the sucker would be so large that it would be carried by the US Navy. It would probably be too heavy to be carried by a Chinook, so it would need open roads as well as a large open area to operate. 6' is probably too deep to core, so I am guessing it would have circling hoe heads. As soon as it had dug the hole it would insert an open plastic "box" in it to keep the walls from collapsing, then dump the dirt next to the hole and inserting an ID stake before moving on. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-04-02 16:31 |
| #4 I know you are right, Moose. I was just having some snarky word fun. But be that as it may, after the Rachel Corrie affair, with its Seattle plays and global calls to boycott Caterpillar, I don't think it wise PR move for them just because it would be portrayed as a tool for the evil Zionists. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-04-02 15:49 |
| #3 2b: Such a vehicle would be very useful in natural disasters. Individual, marked graves, lined with cheap plastic support walls are far preferable to mass graves filled with body-bagged corpses, which are the current alternative. You might even use plastic coffins, if there is a strong possible need for exhumation. The important thing is to bury the bodies as quickly as possible, before you get a major disease outbreak. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-04-02 15:17 |
| #2 The Israelies already have one. It automatically digs a hole and wraps a kafia. |
| Posted by: Master of Obvious 2006-04-02 12:11 |
| #1 I can see the PR for it now :-) Caterpillar Tomb Tractor. A favorite of tyrants, despots and genocidal murders!! Purchase our Corrie Model NOW!! Call today and get a free body-bagging attachment for just an additional $99,999. Supplies are limited. Don't wait, it could soon be too late. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-04-02 11:55 |