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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Bird Flu Drug Rendered Useless (By China) |
| 2005-06-18 |
| Chinese farmers, acting with the approval and encouragement of government officials, have tried to suppress major bird flu outbreaks among chickens with an antiviral drug meant for humans, animal health experts said. International researchers now conclude that this is why the drug will no longer protect people in case of a worldwide bird flu epidemic. China's use of the drug amantadine, which violated international livestock guidelines, was widespread years before China acknowledged any infection of its poultry, according to pharmaceutical company executives and veterinarians. |
| Posted by:phil_b |
| #9 Phil, apparently sari silk makes a fabulous water filter -- if you boil or treat the water first, let it settle, then pour through the silk to get out all the icky particulates. So you can probably get by with a 3-day supply of bottled water to get past the initial difficulties (4 liters/person/day for drinking as I recall). I keep distilled water in gallon plastic jugs, which I use anyway for ironing Mr. Wife's work shirts, and tomorrow he gets a chainsaw for Father's Day/ 23rd wedding anniversary, which he can use to create firewood. ;-) Do you really think bad days are a'coming, or are you just taking sensible precautions? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-06-18 23:34 |
| #8 Someone who can read Chinese and is following Chinese language sources remarked yesterday that the Chinese government seems unusually paranoid even for them. Here Do what you wish, but I am stocking up on stuff and have a backup means of cooking if I lose electricity and gas. Keeping warm isn't a real issue here. Next step is a means to store enough water for a weeks use. The problem with a panic is everyone does it at the same time. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-06-18 22:52 |
| #7 Thanks for the post, phil_b - I appreciate how you stay so closely on top of this news topic. The stories don't instill fear (Anymore - I read The Coming Plague over a decade ago, so I've already been scared witless and recovered, lol!) but they do stoke a slow-burn anger at Asia, in general, and China, in particular for the cavalier / paranoid (weird combo) handling of something which could become a pandemic almost overnight. The really amazing thing, and this story is a prime example of it, is that they seem to choose precisely the wrong thing to do at every critical decision step along the way. I presume they are not trying to create a pandemic, but you certainly wouldn't know it by examining their actions. They just might succeed, far better than ever imagined, in handling that little population problem. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-06-18 21:19 |
| #6 I just hope China's wiped out first, starting with the Politburo, then VN. Given that flu outbreaks usually originate in that region, it's always a possibility. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-06-18 12:16 |
| #5 thanks China! Stupid backwards ass-covering bureaucrats will bring a frigging plague upon us and we won't have an effective recourse. I just hope China's wiped out first, starting with the Politburo, then VN. Quarantine them at first (published) outbreak ...as if they'd tell us promptly |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-06-18 10:50 |
| #4 Thanks, phil! |
| Posted by: anon1 2005-06-18 08:39 |
| #3 anon1, your only options are to scam doctors - not that hard just research your story first, or get someone who is going overseas to somewhere where they can buy over the counter. A person can bring in a 3 month supply of a medication at the manufacturers recommended maximum dose. They just have to say its for their own personal use. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-06-18 07:23 |
| #2 In Australia, I have to get a prescription for antibiotics/anti virals but if I order them from the states or somewhere, customs will check my mail. so how am i gonna stockpile? |
| Posted by: anon1 2005-06-18 07:11 |
| #1 Yup, that sounds about right. You don't need a prescription for antibiotics, either. I can get amoxicillin right off the shelf from the drugstore. |
| Posted by: gromky 2005-06-18 05:46 |