| Submit your comments on this article |
| Science & Technology |
| National Guard May Be Needed to Enforce Quarantine in Flu Pandemic |
| 2007-05-10 |
| Military and civilian health facilities will be overwhelmed if a nationwide flu pandemic hits the United States, and the National Guard may have to be called out to provide medical help and even enforce a quarantine, the Defense Department warned in a report released Wednesday. As the Pentagon fights criticism from congressional Democrats that the war in Iraq is depleting the National Guard's ability to help out in domestic crises, the 86-page report says a possible pandemic could require National Guard assistance in supplying medical aid or isolating groups of people to minimize further spread of the disease. About 3 million people could die as a result of a possible pandemic, with up to 35 percent of the population falling ill, reads the report dated August 2006 and titled "The Department of Defense Implementation Plan for Pandemic Influenza." According to the report, in the event of a pandemic or a bioterror attack, the Defense Department may be called by the president to assist civilian authorities in minimizing the spread of disease by placing restrictions on interstate transportation. Jurisdictions, the report adds, would be overwhelmed and unable to provide essential commodities and services. In addition, the nation will not be able to rely on airlines... |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #6 FOX NEWS has been reporting lately a HANTA-VIRUS EPIDEMIC-PANDEMIC is the worst-case potential flu scenario for US agencies, followed by 1918-style INFLUENZA including SPANISH FLU. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-05-10 22:09 |
| #5 As for home schooling, as long as the internet still works, we'll be ok. Either the school district will put up lessons and assignments, or we'll work from their textbooks with Google research to assist. Of course I'll go mad -- I'm not meant to be a teacher -- but that won't be so much of an issue. Question: how long does the hand sanitizer keep? We haven't yet used up the several small bottles I bought after our discussions during the SARS situation. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-10 20:53 |
| #4 Steve White: My shopping list of stuff for a flu epidemic. 1) Walgreens $4/qt hand sanitizer, plus 2oz bottles to carry around and have spares in the car. I keep about 10 gallons total for several people. 2) Plastic, medical latex and rubber household gloves. A bunch of them. 3) Several pair of clear cheap shop glasses, frame type. 4) Both dust (cheap) and ear loop (not so cheap) masks. Don't worry about getting N95s. 5) A cheap vaporizer. You can add disinfectant to the water and the droplets will sanitize a room. Alternatively, a forced air cleaner with a UV light. 6) Lots of household cleaners. If someone gets diarrhea, pour a few ounces of bleach into the toilet *before* flushing, so the air isn't filled with a contaminated spray of vapor. I wouldn't worry about food shortages, but you might lay in a store of canned chicken and turkey, in case lots of birds are wiped out. Maybe even some some big bags of frozen chicken parts. You might plan for a "sick room" in case a family member gets ill. It's not advisable to run off to the country, as there will be a lot of heavily armed fruitcakes out there who will shoot on sight. If you have kids, prepare for home schooling. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-05-10 20:23 |
| #3 All the planning is good but it won't mean squat if individuals aren't prepared. And as I inventory my own home, we're not. I'm going to have to fix that. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2007-05-10 16:49 |
| #2 The National Guard, the police, whatever Armed Forces units are home recovering from the external war... even a mere epidemic in an emergency justifying such strong measures, let alone a pandemic. In the case of a pandemic, surely everyone would hunker down wherever they were until the emergency has been resolved, which is why responsible companies are figuring out ahead of time how people will be fed and housed for the duration. Where do they get these people?!? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-10 13:59 |
| #1 We need to redeploy the troops to Kansas! |
| Posted by: Col. Murtha 2007-05-10 12:48 |