Ojos Abiertos: Surviving the Avian Flu in Fruitvale

State of California Unveils Pandemic Plan

2006-01-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

California Unveils Flu Plan
By Harrison Sheppard, Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO -- California would take steps as drastic as shutting schools, limiting public events and asking people to wear masks in public in order to cope with a possible bird flu pandemic, under a draft plan released today by state health officials.

The avian influenza has yet to reach California and is not easily spread among humans, but health officials are worried the virus could mutate, launching a worldwide pandemic on a scale not seen since Spanish flu killed 20 million people in 1918.

"Depending on its severity, an influenza pandemic could cause widespread economic and societal disruption and severely strain our health-care system," said California Department of Health Services director Sandra Shewry.

[snip]

Some elements of the plan will be implemented prior to a pandemic, such as reinforcing to the public messages about good health practices, like covering one's mouth when sneezing, washing hands, and stockpiling supplies such as bottled water, canned food, batteries and flashlights for an extended emergency.

Read entire article here.

Or, go to the draft of the plan at the California Department of Health Services, Division of Communicable Disease Control. The draft is 170 pages long.

Regular Flu Season is Here

2005-12-27T10:36:00.000-08:00

From the San Francisco Chronicle 12/26

A flu bug -- with California's name on it appears to have gained a footing in the western United States, jamming emergency departments in the Los Angeles area and spreading into Bay Area households just in time for the holidays.

Medical laboratories that serve as sentinels for the annual arrival of the flu season have picked up a spike in influenza cases in California, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Kansas -- with a widespread outbreak reported under way in Utah.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly all the viruses analyzed so far come from a strain of influenza labeled A/California/07/20.

This article lead me to further research and the California Influenza Surveillance Project, which tracks the levels of flu around the state. It is a useful site, which includes links to:

"enhanced surveillance for avian flu"
flu shot locators
basic information on the seasonal flu

Take a look, click here.

Ritual HandWashing @ Deep Roots Urban TeaHouse

2005-12-10T22:03:00.000-08:00

Located at 1418 34th Avenue, this urban teahouse is the bomb. Ritual handwashing comes before a lush serving of organic tea. Deep Roots is an inspiring space. I salute their efforts to nurture our neighborhood.

They host a "teacher's lounge" on Sunday afternoons—grade papers and prepare your lesson plans while DJ Q-KUG spins cool jazz and deep soul.

Or, play dominos on the 3rd Wednesday of every month.

Ask them for details about this promising announcement on their website: "Under the radar-Strategies for Community Survival" This monthly community dialog and speaker series is hosted by Bay Area local heroes to share strategies on maintaining our communities in the face of current political challenges. Topics include Urban gardening and healthy food sourcing, retaining culture through permaculture, transportation access and alternatives, redefining urban health, and education reform.

Very cool.

Visit their website—click here.

Where's the plan?

2005-12-08T17:29:00.000-08:00

I asked the teacher of C.O.R.E. about local pandemic preparedness plans. She informed me that pandemic preparedness is a county and not a city issue [?!?!?] Geez. I don't get it. Sure, the county deals with the health/hospital aspect of the thing. But, don't you think a pandemic response would necessitate police, fire, and city services? Geez, people, get with it.

But, does the county have a plan?

The website for Alameda County Public Health provides only a very basic informational flyer about the avian flu. Last updated: 9/23/05. [Although they do get props for having it in five languages.]

San Francisco Public Health website, on the other hand, is quite comprehensive, including detailed disease reporting requirements, current health advisories, and a "preparedness and response" guide for physicians. It's worth checking out. I added it to my links on the right.

12/11 UPDATE: The Washington Post reports on the "tabletop" pandemic preparedness drill conducted by the feds on Saturday.

The key finding:

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said the federal government alone cannot handle a major flu outbreak.

"State and local governments, state and local communities, schools need to have a plan, businesses need to have a plan, faith organizations need to have a plan," he said.

Again, who has the plan?

Who Can Post Here?

2005-12-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

Anyone can post here

If you have a new topic, post it here in the comment section and I will front-page it.

Yes, you are welcome to post even if you don't live in Fruitvale—although I don't know why anyone would live anywhere else.

If you'd like posting privileges, send me your email address and I'll arrange for member status.

House rules: Don't use this blog to spread rumors. Panic and fear are our worst enemies. Use this site to post first-hand information and observations only.

Feel free to post anonymously. I do cuz I know that some people think pandemic talk=crazy talk. I'm not quite willing to go public with that.

This site is an experiment: Can we create virtual community in an actual neighborhood? Can virtual community lead to real acts of solidarity?

C.O.R.E. 1

2005-12-08T17:00:00.000-08:00

We went to the first training for C.O.R.E. (Citizen of Oakland Respond to Emergencies). The focus was earthquake and fire preparedness but there was some good information. I recommend that everyone get this training. I'm pretty sure that everyone will learn something new even if some of the information is already well known. It is an especially good workshop for households and family units to attend together. It gets everyone on the same page.

Here's what I learned: I need to program the Oakland police and fire emergency numbers into my cell phone. 911 calls from cell phones go to a highway patrol dispatch somewhere else. We—like an increasing number of people we know—don't have a landline. So if we need help quick we will be calling from our cellphones.

There are three levels of C.O.R.E. training. To do the second training, they recommend that you organize a group of neighbors. They actually come out to the neighborhood and do a walk through. So we are looking for neighbors who'd like to be part of this. Any takers?

Get your Pneumonia Vaccine

2005-12-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

This article [click here] from the New York Times (11.30.05) provides the rationale for getting your pneumonia vaccine NOW. The vaccine is covered by most insurance and Medicare. Here's a snipet of the article:

Why would an antibacterial vaccine be useful in a viral epidemic? Because patients weakened by the flu often acquire a secondary infection with the pneumococcal bacteria that causes pneumonia. While the flu virus itself can be lethal, all too often it is the bacterial infection that kills.

I got my vaccine this week. One more thing checked off my pandemic preparedness "to do" list.

Interview with Mike Davis

2005-12-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

Mike Davis, in this recent interview, argues for the development of:

...disaster plans that involve citizen participation and mobilize citizen skills and initiative, and that use principals of neighborhood or social solidarity as the basis for disaster planning. The Japanese do this to some extent. The Cubans have a great experience in doing this throughout hurricanes; despite the image in the American press that it's all done top-down by the army, that's not how it works... it changes your whole perception of your own situation, when you view yourself as a citizen with responsibility for your neighbors rather than as a selfish survivalist trying to hide out and escape the fate of other people.

Yes. Exactly. This blog is motivated by the desire to build "social solidarity." This blog is motivated by the desire to resist "selfish survivalist" tendencies (in myself and others.)

Read full interview: click this link.

[Thanks to brother A for sending me this link.]

Free C.O.R.E. Training

2005-11-26T20:19:00.000-08:00

Click this link: Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies

In seeking opportunities to promote community awareness and service, the mission of CORE is to promote the spirit of neighbor helping neighbor and to provide the highest quality emergency and disaster prevention, preparedness and response training.

Since its inception in 1990, the CORE program has provided free, community-based training to more than 10,000 residents. Early in its history, CORE became a model for community and city-wide collaboration, and was among the first community emergency response team curriculums developed.

My household is signing up for this training. It's free. It's multilingual. It seems like a good idea.

Vegetables

2005-11-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

Now that I have my first layer of preparedness in place—canned goods, supplies, medicines— I'm starting to think about the things I enjoy.

Like coffee. I realized that if we lose power, we won't be able to grind our own coffee. So, I bought a pound of ground coffee and even (gasp!) a jar of instant. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

I'm also thinking a lot about fruits and vegetables. We signed up with Planet Organics a few weeks ago. It is a bit pricey ($32 min order) for a box of organic fruits and vegetables. The quality, though, is really top-notch. Planet Organic delivers on Tuesdays in our neighborhood. I'm thinking they may be able to keep their business up and running during the pandemic: they are selling produce from small, local farms so they won't have the same supply chain issues as the supermarkets.

I also went to Long's Drugs in Rockridge a few days ago. In addition to buying Red Mills polenta and barley to put in my emergency food reserves, I also bought some seeds. I'm not a great gardener and I floundered a bit in front of all my choices. In the end, I choose spinach, peas, zuchini, and parsley. I'm mostly thinking about veggies that I can put in soups and pasta dishes. Note to self: Buy more cans of diced tomatoes to add to my food reserves.

While at Long's, I noticed that the garden section still had pre-started vegetables, mostly lettuces and herbs. I wasn't sure if they would sell these throughout the year.

A few months ago, I threw down some nastursium seeds. They are growing like blazes and they are edible. But, really, how many flowers can you eat? I also have a small lemon tree and a well-established—and mostly neglected—apple treee. I'm going to give the apple tree some attention so that it might produce a better crop next year. Apple pie, anyone? Seriously though, maybe I can trade my apples for some beautiful membrillo (quince) from the garden of the man down the road.

Why Prepare? Here's the Theory

2005-11-02T23:27:00.000-08:00

Avian flu activists predict that a pandemic will cause society to cease functioning. It goes without saying that New Orleans is on everyone's mind.

Here's a theory of what MAY happen during a pandemic: Let's say 5% of the population of Oakland has the flu. Somewhere between 10% and 50% of those who catch the flu, die from it. [Note:The current death rate is believed to be 50% but that won't necessarily be the case if the flu virus mutates to allow H2H tranmission.]

Fear begins to rise and people avoid public gatherings. Teachers become uneasy as they fear catching the disease from one of the students in their over-crowded schools. Rumors fly about who has come down with the flu. Parents begin to keep their children home from school. Eventually, the schools close completely and parents who normally work must stay home to care for their children, who are sick or just have no place else to go. The available work force diminishes.

Meanwhile, the local Albertson's is trying to run on a skeletal staff. The lines at the check-out counter are three times as long as usual. More people are trying to buy more things because they want to avoid having to go to the store for the rest of the month. In long lines, people panic because they are forced to be in close contact with strangers. Someone sneezes. Everyone gets nervous. Extra police are dispatched to grocery stores to "maintain order," but they too are understaffed. The grocery store staff is having a hard time keeping items on the shelf. This leads to even more fear as people wonder if they will even be able to buy toilet paper tomorrow.

Then, because of staff shortages and a lack of parts to make repairs, the already fragile electrical grid begins to falter. There are roaming blackouts. Same happens with the water treatment facilities. Sanitation becomes a problem. And so on...

Clearly, this is worst-case scenario. Many say that electricity and water will be more problematic in small and medium-sized towns and not in major metropolitan areas such as ours. But no one knows for sure.

Moreover, all experts agree that we should be prepared for a major earthquake on the Hayward Fault. Preparation seems like a reasonable response.

Snow Days in Oakland. It's Possible

2005-11-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

Word for word from Bush's Pandemic Influenza Plan:

Implementation of “snow days”—asking everyone to stay home—involves the entire community in a positive way, is acceptable to most people, and is relatively easy to implement. Snow days may be instituted for an initial 10-day period, with final decisions on duration based on an epidemiologic and social assessment of the situation. States and local authorities may wish to consider recommendations to the public for acquisition and storage of necessary provisions including type and quantity of supplies needed during snow days. Snow days can effectively reduce transmission without explicit activity restrictions (i.e., quarantine). Consideration should be given to personnel who maintain primary functions in the community (e.g.,law enforcement personnel, transportation workers, utility workers [electricity, water, gas, telephone, sanitation]). Compliance with snow days might be enhanced by “self-shielding” behavior (i.e., many people may stay home even in the absence of an official snow day [“reverse quarantine”]).

The plan is over 300 pages long. This quotation is from Part 2.8 "Community Disease Control and Prevention."

"Social Distancing"

2005-11-02T18:17:00.000-08:00

From FluWiki

Social Distancing. This simply means avoiding contact with other people. Examples include closing schools, malls and theaters. Shelter-in-place may also be applied. This means staying at home. This strategy requires stockpiling, which is why this practice is so frequently mentioned in pandemic preparedness guide.

So, "social distancing" is one way to avoid catching the flu. Makes sense. And, another reason to stock up.

No need for "social distancing" on the internets though. So hop in and get your social on.

Solar Cooking

2005-11-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

If we lose electricity, solar cooking is a good option—especially for those of us in sunny Fruitvale.

This site has many free plans for solar cookers that you can build from a card-board box. No shit. Talk about energy efficient. And, practically free. Check it out. I'm really digging the way the plans are all about "power to the people." Solar power. Plans are available in many languages.

You could also use a solar cooker to disinfect mail and other items you need to bring into your house. Heat kills the avian flu virus. You'd have to be careful, though, or your mail might go up in smoke. [Poof!]

Stockpiling Food and Water

2005-11-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

How much food and water does it make sense to stockpile? That's a hard question and it is pretty intimidating to read the posts at FluWiki from people who are stockpiling for a whole year. [yikes!]

That just doesn't seem feasible for us. Not financially. Not psychically.

We have made a decision to only stockpile things that we will actually WANT to eat, pandemic or no. We are trying to find the balance between preparedness and reason.

We have settled on the following strategy:

We signed up for regular water delivery. Over the next month we will gather a surplus of 30-40 gallons of drinking water.
We have stopped recycling large plastic containers and are, instead, filling them with water for non-drinking uses like washing. We buy our kitty litter in plastic jugs and these work well for water storage.
During our regular grocery shopping, we are buying extras of whatever we are buying anyway (an extra jar of peanut butter, extra coffee, extra cans of beans, etc). We are focusing on foods that are high in nutrition. From a month of doing this, we have filled a large plastic tub.
In addition to our regular supplies, we bought some "thermopaks" of ultra-pasteurized milk (Horizon organic) and soy milk to use in baking. And, a large can of olive oil.
When it seems appropriate, we plan to buy large sacks of rice, lentils, and flour. We are vegetarians so we are used to eating beans and rice. We can bake bread if necessary or , perhaps, flour tortillas.

Wash your hands! It could save your life!

2005-11-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

Your first line of defense against the avian flu is CLEANLINESS.

The best way for you to protect yourself and your loved ones is by becoming cumpulsive about washing your hands and not touching your face.

Old fashioned soap and water is your best bet. Wash thoroughly for a minimum of 20 seconds. Be vigorous in your handwashing technique. Imagine this: you are squishing and killing the virus. Rub, rub, rub.

When you can't wash your hands with soap and water, a Purell-type alchohol-based product is also good. I keep one on my desk at work and another in my car. Again, it is important to rub your hands together in a vigorous manner. I have Purell stockpiled on the theory that it will become scarce in a pandemic. But, I've also got a good supply of old-fashioned Ivory soap.

Note: You will need to use more hand lotion with all that vigorous hand washing.

List of Supplies in my Preparedness Pack

2005-11-01T20:07:00.000-08:00

Coleman Stove and extra cannisters of fuel
Batteries for flashlight/radio
All kinds of soap—dishwashing, hand, laundry
Clorox disinfecting wipes
Clorox spray cleaner
Bleach for disinfectant
Alcohol-based hand disinfectant (Purell)
Paper Towels
Garbage bags
Ziplock baggies
Kleenex
Toilet Paper for 3 months
Tampons
Cat food and kitty litter

I'm keeping these in the basement so we don't use them by mistake.

In addition, I bought some masks and latex gloves. Out in the avian flu blogosphere, there is quite a bit of controversy about what kind of masks to buy. I got one box (20 masks) of the N95 NIOSH-approved type. These are the kind they use in hospitals. Others, say NANO-masks are better. I ordered NANO-masks from the internet about a month ago and I haven't received them yet. I think they are on back-order but who knows. I'm not sure that I ordered from the best site.

The Rumsfeld Connection

2005-11-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

This article is worth checking out. It traces the relationship between Rumsfield and the biotech firm that developed Tamiflu. Here's a quotation:

The Secretary of Defense, the man who allegedly supported the use of contrived intelligence to justify the war on Iraq, is now poised to reap huge gains for a flu panic his Administration has done everything it can to promote. It would be useful to know whether the Pentagon’s successor to Douglas Feith’s Office of Special Plans developed the strategy of biowarfare behind the current Avian Flu panic. Perhaps some enterprising Congressional committee might look into the entire subject of plausible conflicts of interest regarding Secretary Rumsfeld.

Ojos abiertos. Keep your eyes open. Consider all sides. Stay open to all possibilities. Flexibility is strength. Dogma is death.

List of Medicines in my Storage Bin

2005-10-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

For self-treatment if we get the flu:
Ibuprofen
Acetaminophen
Imodium
Benadryl
Cough Medicine with Guaifensesin
Gammalineoleic Acid (GLA)
Eicosapenthenoic Acid (EPA)
Gatorade
Tea/Lemon/Honey
Soda Crackers

To help keep us in overall good health during the pandemic:
Emergen-C [A powder vitimin-C drink with electrolytes]
Multivitimin

Plus, a 90-day supply of our usual prescriptions.

I highly recommend reading Rich Erwin's list of conventional and alternative medicines for avian flu and Dr. Woodson's article on preparing for the pandemic.