Health Care Workers Discussion Area

johngardner1,I have raised chickens for years and I have been involved with people raising other live stock for years. You say that my answer does not pan. Well,it does pan out. I have vacinated chickens for years with vaccines for chickens for viruses that humans do not catch. The same is true for other live stock. If this thing ever mutates to where it is easily transmmited to humans,it will be a different virus than the one that exists now and primarily infects fowl now. The Viologists may have a better Idea about where to start to grow the new mutated virus,but it may not work.Chickens and humans and cows and dogs and sheep and ever other animal on earth are prone to catch different diseases. It is when a jump is made from one species to another that a problem is created.The same vaccine that may help a chicken is by no means guaranteed to help a human or a goat or a pig and this same rule is true for all animals.It sounds simple on the surface but it is not simple in the lab. Johnray1

Johnray1 wrote: johngardner1,I have raised chickens for years and I have been involved with people raising other live stock for years. You say that my answer does not pan. Well,it does pan out. I have vacinated chickens for years with vaccines for chickens for viruses that humans do not catch. The same is true for other live stock. If this thing ever mutates to where it is easily transmmited to humans,it will be a different virus than the one that exists now and primarily infects fowl now. The Viologists may have a better Idea about where to start to grow the new mutated virus,but it may not work.Chickens and humans and cows and dogs and sheep and ever other animal on earth are prone to catch different diseases. It is when a jump is made from one species to another that a problem is created.The same vaccine that may help a chicken is by no means guaranteed to help a human or a goat or a pig and this same rule is true for all animals.It sounds simple on the surface but it is not simple in the lab. Johnray1

    
That also doesn't pan out, people are getting sick from the current bird flu that's going into people as well as fowl. I'm not talking about the mutated form, that hasn't happened yet, I'm talking about the forms that have already killed 200 people in the last four years. So it's not just a chicken disease, it does infect humans. So where's our vaccine for the current form of the BF? They have vaccine from chicken, are you saying it's easier and faster to create a vaccine for chickens than humans?

Silke,you are a formal Infectiuos Disease Nurse. Why don't you help with some thses answers. Johnray1

When vaccines for human flu are made they contain vaccine for the 3 most likely strains. If they used the three strains of H5N1 that are the most human cell friendly and made a vaccine I realize it would not be "the" vaccine for the mutated human virus but maybe it would provide some protection. It might not keep people from catching it but it might keep them from dying from it. I've heard milkmaids who caught cowpox had protection against smallpox. It was common enough that people noticed. The cowpox virus probably wasn't the perfect smallpox vaccine. Also, what was Australia making that got the Indonesians so upset? They were making vaccines from their samples and trying to patent them. What were they going to do with them? Were they going to make a prepandemic vaccine and wait until h2h and then use it. They could then start producing vaccine for the human strain. What were they talking about a while ago when it was reported some vaccine in storage was losing its potency? When it was made they had some number of doses but after a period of time they had fewer doses.

Suzi wrote: When vaccines for human flu are made they contain vaccine for the 3 most likely strains. If they used the three strains of H5N1 that are the most human cell friendly and made a vaccine I realize it would not be "the" vaccine for the mutated human virus but maybe it would provide some protection. It might not keep people from catching it but it might keep them from dying from it. I've heard milkmaids who caught cowpox had protection against smallpox. It was common enough that people noticed. The cowpox virus probably wasn't the perfect smallpox vaccine. Also, what was Australia making that got the Indonesians so upset? They were making vaccines from their samples and trying to patent them. What were they going to do with them? Were they going to make a prepandemic vaccine and wait until h2h and then use it. They could then start producing vaccine for the human strain. What were they talking about a while ago when it was reported some vaccine in storage was losing its potency? When it was made they had some number of doses but after a period of time they had fewer doses.

    
The cowpox is the method for immunizing against smallpox. I was given this immunization many years ago and still bear the scar. It made a big white fluid-filled blister about half the size of a penny that eventually went away. If you get it in your eyes (smallpox) it will blind you and horribly.

johngardner1,thank you for the kind words of encouragement.They do mean a lot to me.Thank You, Johnray1

I got my smallpox vaccination before I went to the desert... Damn thing made my Lymph glands in my left armpit swell to the point it hurt to put my arm down, and then the thing spread about an inch across my arm. Most people have a nice round scar, mine's a line across my shoulder.

TERMS1, are these your stockpiles, or are these the city's? Are there people guarding these, or are they just cached in your secret spots? I'm asking this because nothing in a city is truly safe. Somebody's going to find just about anything you're stashing and heist it. Good luck!

Turboguy, this is the stuff that the Feds gave my city money to buy. There are only 2 people in the city that know where everyting is (and yup, I'm one of them). Different departments are aware of certain items on a need to know basis. No, nothing is truely secure but, the carrot that is being dangled by the Feds and our city is that city employees and their immediate families will recieve the first doses of medications that are locally stockpiled. It's the only way that people will come to work and set up the distribution point for the rest of the residents. The residents meds will become available from the Strategic National Stockpile. What we are doing in my city is basing distribution to the residents on an Anthrax dispersal (All Hazards) plan.
    

TERMS 1, I will talk to my son about this and see if him and me together can get anything done.I have read FEMAS recommendatios for years and I know that what you said is correct,I finally talked my wife into reading FEMAs recommendations and she then agreed to stores for three days. I kind took her O.K. and streched it a bit so we have far more than she knows and I really hope that some day that I can say it was a waste of money,but that day is not here yet.----I also just called the EMS friend of mine just to make sure that I had not missunderstood him and I had not. He told me again that all of the EMS/Fire/ Police peolpe had been told to store food and water and he also said again that if they had made a up pick at a house and the patient did have"Bird Flu" they were not to make any more picks ups at that house and also that the EMS guys were not to go home. He also told me this time that there was suppose to be a vaccine shot for each EMS/fire/Police worker and each Doctor. He then asked about vaccines for his family and he was told absolutely not. I do not think that I would take a vaccine that "might" keep me alive just to watch my family die and he agreed.Besides.on the vaccine,the likelyhood that the first vaccine will be the correct vaccine are just about zero. So there may be 2 or more extra vaccines here.---He was as told that we could expect no help from the FEDs.They were also give instructions on the mass burning of bodies,but this has just about always been true in every epidemic that ever his the human race. I have closed my private office but I still maintain my Medical License and my DEA Licenses and I do not have a lot to do right now and Deer Season only has one week left,so I may take this on a project for this county.One of the big problems that I will have here is to get the state to lisen. I have talked to State Officals here for various reasons for 20 years now and about all that I have even gotten is screamed at and insulted reguardless of what the department was or what was the subject was. But I will try again. Johnray1

I also work in law enforcement and am worried about our cache of weapons and ammo among other things. I have taken the steps today to reinforce doors and locks. I have not stockpiled food for my area at work but working on food and water for home. Thanks to this site its really in the forefront of my mind. I'm so sick of hearing people say " we are all gonna die of something"...those people are not going to prepare at all and thats what I'm worried about. I know I will have access to weapons and ammo as well as other things but when the public finds out...boy oh boy.

    Great news!! It's not guaranteed, but I may be going through free schooling to become a registered counselor, I'll be working at a local mental health community and get free training. Wish me luck!! It will really help my career. I still want to go thru phlebotomist training too, that's only 5 days of training.

birdfluwatcher wrote: I'm so sick of hearing people say " we are all gonna die of something"...those people are not going to prepare at all and thats what I'm worried about.

Same here. All I hear from coworkers are variations along the same lines - "We all have to die sometime" "If it's your time...". I guess they all plan on sitting at home and starving

yeah well...those people with that attitude piss me off. They will be the first that wants a hand out...and mean as it may sound, they won't get one from me. 

I started to stockpile a long time ago on Tamiflu and none of my family around here believes or cares. So who do I give my supply when the times is ripe? I am serious with this question. Medical, FD, PD??? I am not hording the stuff..I just started very early. I probly have 60 doses   

    I was told a while ago I think on this board that Relenza only costs 30 dollars with enough courses for about two people.

Here is how I got mine...Dr. wrote the RX, Costco was the cheapest, had more supply, cost approx. $90 per box. Each box has 10 doses and the expire date is 2010.    

    The higher the percentile the purer the alcohol is, but the weak 30% kind should still disinfect.

As a registered nurse in a rural family practice I would be happy to participate as well.  Thank you. 

At our clinic , over the last two years, we are seeing an increase of TB and MRSA as well in immigrants.  Mostly MRSA and I mean to tell ya, these immigrants have huge abscesses.  When lanced they spew like a volcano erruption! 

Hey RealityCheck 

Lyndah...You are such a breath of fresh air. Why do DR's almost disregard the obvious and neglet to take a simple swab if only to rule out or add to a data base. Don't get me wrong a DR is a position of leardership and responsibility...however some of us enjoy the study of and are afforded more time to specilize ie..communicable disease control. Its nice to know there are qualified free thinking individuals working on the front lines       

 RealityCheck:

Ditto and more dittos  :)