General Chat

It's the stuff Horror Films are made of, a load of rubbish!!! Vivienne

Angela. and probably, eating the dead birds . Hetty

Bird flu could mutate into a fatal disease that could kill thousands of humans. Or, it is equally likely that it could mutate into something completely harmless that doesn't even cause humans to sniffle. Meanwhile, the longer it takes to mutate the greater the chance that people and birds will develop some sort of primative immunity. We have no way of knowing how many people (or birds!) in Asia have caught Bird Flu, been a bit poorly, but recovered and not caught the attention of the media. Most of the people who died lived in poor countries with little sanitation and no access to decent healthcare. They are the people whose children still die of diarhea and the childhood illnesses we don't give a second thought to.

I know how you feel Elaine. I felt the same when I heard that. I just keep reminding myself that last year we were all going to die from SARS and as it turned out it was yet more scare mongering. Must be a slow news day. Either that or Our Tone is trying to cover something else up !!!!!!!!!!

I agree it is very scary Elaine, but an awful lot of us are descended from people who survived - or didn't catch - bird flu the last time it was around in 1918/19.

The only real concern we should have is the disease getting into our fowl stocks. Brian (i)

To my mind, all of this is scaremongering and simply another form of terrorism. The media and the government are extremely closely interlinked these days and reporting real news is not at the top of the agenda. What is at the top is the effort to keep the population frightened and looking to the government to protect them. As soon as the population feels that the government cannot protect them, they will be ousted, but there have to be plenty of things for the government to protect the population from. (This applies to any government, I'm not referring specifically to the present incumbents.) Bird flu is another version of the 'threat of terrorism', 'the need for the war in Iraq' and all that kind of stuff. I'm sure you and your children have more chance of being killed lightning than anything to do with any of the above.

Hi Elaine Please dont let this worry you too much. My daughter has just attended a lecture on bird flu at the National Vets College. Apparently it has to go through a very complicated mutation to become transmittable from human to human, and, unlike normal flu, (which lives in the back of the throat and nose) this virus lives deep in the lungs so it is more difficult to transmit via coughing and sneezing. It caused many deaths in the early part of 1900's because people were malnourished, living in poverty and overcrowded conditions and had all kinds of other health problems. Half of us were supposed to die of Aids, remember??? Bev x

For those who are really worried, teach your family a few strong hygiene rules to help them ward off all bugs. Teach them to wash their hands really well, after using the toilet, before eating, after handling pets, or playing outside or on parks, or riding their bikes and skateboarding etc. Teach them to blow their noses properly on tissues and then put the tissues in a plastic bag and throw away later, or burn them on a fire if you have an open one (not in the plastic bag) If they can wash their hands after blowing their noses it helps to stop the germs passing onto door handles etc. Teach them not to touch dead birds or animals, not to spit unless it is into a tissue, and to eat healthily as that will help build up the immune system. All these things will keep our country and our lives cleaner and safer and much more pleasant too.

Thanks for all those who have replied. Every now and again I need a bum kick...so thanks ! lol ! The point about Heigene is good It should be applied into everyday life, but I wont go as far to ask my kids to wash their hands if they blow their nose (unless snot gets on their hands obviously) In my opinion being over fussy can sometimes lead to obsession disorders, but in the event of a pandemic, everything will be applied lol ! Elaine x