As avian flu breaks out, Lakenheath reassuring but ready

[unhappycamper]

British police officers guard the entrance to a Redgrave poultry farm where birds tested positive for the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus. Medical facilities at RAF Lakenheath, located less than 30 miles from the farm, say they stand ready if the outbreak worsens.


As avian flu breaks out, Lakenheath reassuring but ready
By Sean Kimmons, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, November 16, 2007

RAF LAKENHEATH, England — RAF Lakenheath will rely on its pandemic influenza response plan if the latest outbreak of avian influenza somehow worsens and people start falling ill, a base health official said Wednesday.

A deadly strain of H5N1 — better known as bird flu — was confirmed this week at a poultry farm less than 30 miles from the base. Avian influenza is a disease of birds, and cases of humans infected by the disease are rare.

However, the virus can mutate into a new human influenza that would be a greater threat to public safety, according to the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, or DEFRA.

If that were to happen, RAF Lakenheath health officials would follow a U.S. Air Forces in Europe template to handle pandemic influenza and would depend on various units from the base to manage the outbreak.

The base also has an arsenal of preventive measures to deter or limit outbreaks, including instituting so-called social distancing, such as canceling school and other public activities, managing personnel flow in and out of the base, and advertising symptoms and tips to base personnel, said Lt. Col. Steven Hinten, public health flight commander.

Hinten stressed that the base hasn’t heightened any alerts because of the recent bird flu discovery. The base remains vigilant throughout the year with ongoing planning, education and training, include an exercise in September that had key players dealing with a mock pandemic influenza.


Rest of article at: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50305



uhc comment: If When the avian flu pandemic breaks out a few things will most likely happen.

1. Marital law will be declared around the world.
2. Society will most likely break down.
3. The war in Afghanistan and the occupation of Iraq will cease as there will be no one left to fight them.
4. Global trade becomes a non-issue, as nations will fiercely guard their borders from strangers.


Historical note: The Flu Pandemic of 1918~1919 effectively ended WWI. There are some estimates that up to 100,000,000 people were killed in that pandemic.

Source: The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague In History

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