02/16 | H5N1: Preparing for pandemic: know how to bury your dead

Link to yesterday's thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=186490

Preparing for pandemic: know how to bury your dead​

Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:46 PM ET

By Andrew Stern

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb 15 (Reuters) - When burying a body in the backyard, don't put it too close to the septic system. That was one piece of advice offered on Wednesday to a business conference on preparing for a potentially lethal bird flu pandemic.
Preparations for a global flu pandemic, which many experts believe is overdue, have begun but the grisly details are horrific and the number of sick could quickly overwhelm the health care system.

Needed supplies of even common medical supplies such as surgical masks and gloves are in doubt, not to mention the syringes needed for an as-yet undeveloped vaccine and costly mechanical ventilators.

The H5N1 avian flu virus that has infected flocks on at least three continents and killed 91 people could be the virus that experts fear will mutate into a highly pathogenic form that kills hundreds of millions of people in a matter of weeks or months.

In Seattle, public health officials are weighing the ramifications of hospitals overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of sick people and the need for thousands of body bags.

"We talk about how people should bury their dead in their backyards, how far from the septic systems," said Dorothy Teeter, director of the King County public health department in Seattle. "In case you're wondering, it's $20 apiece for high-quality body bags. In New Orleans (after Hurricane Katrina) they had to double-bag bodies."

Refrigerated trucks will be needed to ship and store food and medicines and will not be available for corpses, a mistake made by federal authorities who commandeered trucks after Katrina, said James Caverly of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Communicating the truth will be important to deter civil unrest, several experts told the conference. Up until six months ago, the Department of Health and Human Services was planning privately for a pandemic but saying little publicly, said communications consultant Peter Sandman.

The shift may be due to President George W. Bush reading John Barry's "The Great Influenza," an account of the 1918 influenza pandemic during which government assured the public that it was just another seasonal flu outbreak, Sandman said. At the time, Barry said many communities were brought to a near standstill, with people afraid to talk to each other or care for the sick.

"When you mislead people, when you over-reassure people ... they feel less trusting, and they behave much worse," Sandman said.

Conference participants from corporations, interest groups, and government met to discuss revising just-in-time supply concepts in order to stockpile, shutting down and restarting facilities in pandemic-hit countries, and cross-training employees and bringing back retirees to replace a significant portion of their employees that might become sick, decide not to come to work, or die.

If companies stockpile masks and antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu, conference participants wondered if tax breaks would be enacted to defray the cost of preparing.

The dilemma for producers of syringes and the like is that increasing factory capacity for a one-time sale for a pandemic is bad business practice.

Meanwhile, government will have to address public skepticism about its ability to prepare for a pandemic, the official in charge of emergency preparedness at the Department of Health and Human Services said.

http://today.reuters.com/investing/...5235458_RTRIDST_0_BIRDFLU-PANDEMIC-REFILE.XML

The Times February 16, 2006

No-go areas planned as bird flu closes in​

By Valerie Elliott and Nigel Hawkes

ONE-MILE exclusion zones are to be set up in Britain to protect human health if a wild bird is found to be infected with the deadly avian flu virus.
The emergency measures, also designed to protect poultry from infection by wild birds, recall the spectre of the foot-and-mouth outbreak of five years ago. They were announced yesterday, as the H5N1 strain continued to spread westwards.

Germany, Austria and Denmark are the latest countries to report wild swans infected with H5 avian flu. While the virus has yet to infect domestic birds, consumers across the Continent have turned their backs on poultry, causing a collapse in prices.

Poultry traders in Britain yesterday reported that they are being offered chicken from the Continent for as little as 40p per pound, compared with prices for home-reared chickens of 50p to 55p per pound.

Inside the exclusion zones all poultry movements will be halted. Footpaths may also be closed. All poultry and pigs within the area will be tested for the virus. The entire flock or herd will be culled if any are infected.

There will also be a six-mile surveillance zone with strict veterinary checks on any poultry or pig farms within it. Any farmer in a surveillance area wishing to send chickens to the food chain will need a licence.

The controls will last at least 21 days in exclusion zones and 30 days in surveillance zones.

The collapse in chicken consumption across mainland Europe is so severe that the Health Commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, was forced to urge people to keep eating poultry.In Italy sales are down 50 per cent since the weekend and in France and Germany almost 20 per cent.

There are no plans yet for British poultry to be ordered indoors, an action already taken by France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Slovenia and in parts of Norway. Denmark called for flocks of more than 100 to be housed indoors, while Germany has ordered all birds to be locked inside from tomorrow. Switzerland and Belgium are planning similar action.

Wild birds in Britain continue to be tested for the virus, but a spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said yesterday that the risk to the UK remained low.

Charles Bourns, chairman of the National Farmers’ Union poultry board, last night told shoppers to “buy British” and look for British symbols on packs to be certain of what they were eating.

European Commission officials called for calm but said that there was a “high risk” of the disease spreading further.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2042749,00.html

Reference article: "Preparing for pandemic: know how to bury your dead"

Nice article but it did not follow through with letting us know how to "bury your dead!"

If my husband were to die from the Bird Flu and there was no where to take him for burial. I would try and get the back hoe man to come and dig a hole. He has already buried a horse for me.

If he could not come and my son and I were still healthy, then we would do the best we could to dig some sort of grave. For me it would be very difficult as I am older and not physically very strong.

I would like to know just how deep the grave would have to be to keep out dogs and the like!

What an awful thought to consider having to buy body bags ahead of time as a prep item for if the Bird flu hits. Gee, I have never given something like that a thought before now. I wonder if you can even buy them now.

Europe scrambles to stop bird flu​

Wednesday, February 15, 2006 Posted: 1930 GMT (0330 HKT)

(CNN) -- European Union veterinary experts have backed plans to boost surveillance of migratory birds and impose stricter bans on imports as officials desperately tried to find ways to curb the spread of deadly bird flu on the continent.

Austria and Germany said on Wednesday wild birds in their countries tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease.

The European Commission also said samples taken from three dead wild swans in Hungary were being sent to a laboratory in England for further testing.

"The Hungarian authorities are applying the same precautionary measures as other member states in which the H5N1 virus has been confirmed or in which it is suspected in wild birds," the Commission said in a statement.

The announcement came as the EC approved more than 1.9 million euros ($2.26 million) for surveillance programs and added testing to ensure early detection of bird flu outbreaks.

"The aim of these national surveillance programs is to provide early detection of cases of avian influenza, particularly in wild birds and poultry in the European Union," EU spokesman Philip Tod told The Associated Press.

On Tuesday, Germany officials said tests showed two wild swans had died of the H5N1 strain on Ruegen island in the Baltic Sea. That followed news the same day that Austria had found two cases of the virus in dead swans in the south.

Italy and Greece reported swan deaths from the highly pathogenic strain on Saturday.

Germany and Austria have also sent samples to a laboratory in Britain for further confirmation.

As a precaution, Germany's Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer ordered all domestic poultry be kept inside beginning Friday.

Seehofer said the Germany's National Crisis Board is meeting Wednesday to discuss the situation with all ministers and all relevant organizations in a bid to prevent wild birds transmitting the virus to farming livestock.

"All possible means will be discussed and if necessary implemented so that a transmission from wild birds to farming livestock can be prevented. That is the most crucial point at the moment," Seehofer added.

Last year, bird owners in Germany were required to keep their animals indoors for several months in a similar precaution.

Meanwhile, Iraqi authorities on Wednesday declared a bird flu alert in a southern province and moved to prevent the transport of birds in and out of the area, The Associated Press reported.

It is the latest measure by Iraq to stem the spread of bird flu following the discovery of the country's only confirmed case of the disease in a human in January.

The World Health Organization has said the recent global outbreaks of bird flu are the largest and most severe on record.

Excluding the current spread, the WHO says only 24 outbreaks of the deadly strain had been recorded around the world since 1959, 14 in the past decade. Only one of those spread internationally.

Now the virus has been reported in nine Asian nations, with Indonesia seen as the country where the virus is becoming more virulent.

The virus is also spreading around Europe, Africa and the Middle East, in nations such as Turkey, Croatia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Romania, Iraq and Iran and in Nigeria.

About 200 million birds have died from the disease or been culled around the world since the disease first appeared in China's Guangdong province -- which adjoins Hong Kong -- in 1997.

Since re-emerging in Asia in 2003, bird flu has killed 91 people. However, experts fear that the more birds that catch the virus, the more likelihood it will mutate into a form that can be transmitted between humans, triggering a global pandemic.

All but a handful of cases of human sickness have been caused by direct contact with sick birds, suggesting the virus, so far, is unable to move easily among humans.

Crisis meeting

The bird flu threat in all affected EU countries was to be reviewed by the EU's Food Chain and Animal Health Committee on Wednesday and Thursday, the Commission said in a separate statement, according to AP.

Earlier, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Association had warned migratory birds could spread the virus even further north into Europe.

Austria has created a restricted zone near Graz in the Styria region bordering Slovenia where the swans were found. It has told farmers there to keep their poultry in barns and has banned poultry trade in that area for at least 30 days.

On Saturday, authorities said birds had died from the highly pathogenic strain in southern regions of Italy and the northern part of Greece. This was the first time it had been detected in the 25-member EU.

In the Middle East, Iran said wild swans have died of H5N1 in marshlands near the Caspian Sea.

Experts had said it was only a matter of time before the H5N1 would break out in Iran, as it is a wintering area for wildfowl that may be carriers. (Migratory patterns)

In Africa, authorities are struggling to control the rate of infections sweeping through Nigeria amid fears the nation's poultry industry could fall victim to the virus.

So far, sick fowl have been found in three states and are suspected in five others.

Officials have expressed fears that the virus is currently acting similarly to the 1918 flu virus, a pandemic that killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million people.

CNN's Berlin Bureau Chief Chris Burns contributed to this report.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/02/15/birdflu.wrap/index.html

I figure the last of us alive (just DW and me) will just torch the house and do suicide when it's well involved in flames. (It's against the law to burry someone outside of a registered cemetery and w/o death certificate, and I'd sure hate to break the law and/or cause law enforcement any extra paper work.)

Wouldn't it be ironic if this was all a Big Pharm hype to get us to buy more drugs?!

would it be okay to disregard people's personal preferences and cremate them then..or would cremation cause the virus to go airborne, carried by their ashes? Would cemetaries waive coffin and union regs for who could bury the dead and how they could be buried?

and remember..before the birdflu even mutates...it is still a 'bird' flu..what to be done with all the animal carcasses?

So much for chicken soup for the sick..let alone for the soul, I guess.. :/

Pardon the 'gallows humor'..but in life and death situations..sometimes just such instances of it can help keep one at least vaguely sane..

Bird flu 'could take 142m lives'​

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/02/15/birdflu.cost/

Worst case economic cost is $4.4 trillion

Wednesday, February 15, 2006 Posted: 2213 GMT (0613 HKT)

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- As many as 142 million people around the world could die if bird flu turns into a "worst case" influenza pandemic, according to a sobering new study of its possible consequences.

And global economic losses could run to $4.4 trillion -- the equivalent of wiping out the Japanese economy's annual output.

The study, prepared for the Sydney, Australia-based Lowy Institute think tank, says there are "enormous uncertainties" about whether a flu pandemic might happen, and where and when it might happen first.

But it says even a mild pandemic could kill 1.4 million people and cost $330 billion.

In its "ultra" or worst-case scenario, Hong Kong's economy is halved, the large-scale collapse of Asian economic activity causes global trade flows to dry up, and money flows out to safe havens in North America and Europe.

The report's release in Sydney Thursday comes as two more countries in Europe -- Germany and Austria -- report that the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been detected in wild fowl (Full story).

The Lowy Institute's report, titled Global Macroeconomic Consequences of Pandemic Influenza, looks at four possible scenarios:

Mild, in which the pandemic is similar to the 1968-69 Hong Kong flu;

Moderate, similar to the 1957 Asian flu;

Severe, similar to the 1918-19 Spanish flu (which infected an estimated 1 billion people and claimed as many as 50 million lives);

An "ultra" scenario that is worse than the Spanish flu outbreak.

Although the 1918-19 flu outbreak probably originated in Asia, it was known as the Spanish flu because the Spanish media were the first to report on its impact.

Since bird flu first appeared in China's Guangdong province -- which adjoins Hong Kong -- in 1996, the disease has claimed more than 90 human lives -- almost all in Asia, with the most recent deaths in Turkey.

In addition, about 200 million birds around the world have died or been culled.

Outside of Asia, there have been bird flu outbreaks in Greece, Italy, Turkey, Croatia, Russia, Azerbaijan and Romania in Europe, Iraq and Iran in the Middle East and in Nigeria, Africa. (Full story)

This spread of the disease from Asia to the fringes of Europe in recent weeks has prompted massive global attention on possible prevention measures, with the U.S., the EU and countries such as China and Japan committing hefty financial and human resources to combating the disease.

But the new Lowy Institute report, by the Australian National University's Prof. Warwick McKibbin and research fellow Dr Alexandra Sidorenko, says the major difficulty with influenza vaccine development is "the need to hit the constantly moving target as the virus mutates very rapidly."

Their observation follows a scientific study released last week which said bird flu was much more diverse than previously thought, with at least four distinct types of the deadly H5N1 virus (Full story).

In that study, a group of 29 scientists around the globe found that the virus was both more genetically diverse and able to survive in birds showing no signs of illness.

One of the researchers, Dr. Malik Peiris, professor of microbiology at Hong Kong University, told CNN on February 8 that regional virus types meant there was a need to look for "broad cross-protection" rather than a single vaccine.

Peiris said that while wild birds may contribute to the introduction and spread of bird flu, the perpetuation of the disease was through stocks of domestic poultry. He said no country was fully prepared to combat the disease, which needed to be tracked back and tackled at its source.
Further mutation

So far, all but a handful of cases of human sickness have been caused by direct contact with sick birds, suggesting the virus is unable to move easily among humans.

But health officials have warned that with continued exposure to people, the virus could mutate further and develop that ability.

While scientists scramble to prepare an effective medical response, the Lowy Institute report primarily looks at the macroeconomic impact of a flu pandemic.

It said there would be four main sets of "shocks" for each scenario: shocks to the labor force (through deaths and dislocation to production); additional supply shocks through increased costs; demand shocks; and risk premium shocks, involving financial flows.

In the worst scenario, it said the death toll could reach 28.4 million in China, 24 million in India, 11.4 million in Indonesia, 4.1 million in the Philippines, 2.1 million in Japan, 2.0 million in the United States and 5.6 million in Europe. In the world's least developed countries, the toll could top 33 million.

It found that East Asian economies would be proportionately more affected than the United States or Europe. In the "ultra" or worst-case scenario, Hong Kong's economy, for example, would shrink by more than 53 percent.

"This is clearly a major economic catastrophe," the report's authors note.

"The large scale collapse of Asia causes global trade flows to dry up and capital to flow to safe havens in North America and Europe."

Japan would experience a larger shock than other industrialized economies, but a smaller shock than the rest of East Asia. However, its integration with the collapsing East Asian economies means it would take a further shock through declining trade flows.

The authors say a "key part of the story" is the monetary policy response.

"Those countries that tend to focus on preventing exchange rate changes are coincidentally the countries that experience the largest epidemiological shocks," they say.

"This is particularly true of Hong Kong, which receives the largest shocks and has the most rigid exchange rate regime."

The report concludes that a "large investment of resources" should be dedicated to preventing an outbreak of pandemic influenza.

The Lowy Institute report is authored by Prof. Warwick McKibbin, professorial fellow at the institute and Professor of Economics at the Australian National University (ANU); and Dr Alexandra Sidorenko, a research fellow at the ANU's National Center for Epidemiology and Population Health, and adjunct research fellow at the ANU's Australian Center for Economic Research on Health.

CNN's Geoff Hiscock in Sydney contributed to this report

From my Prep 101 series

From my series on the CorkBoard. Think it's worth posting here

PREP 101: Part 24, Death in Your Shelter

I welcome tips here, because this is a sensitive subject and legalities enter into it.

Death in a crisis becomes a real issue, as evidenced by the chaos in New Orleans.

Complete independent, long-term survival with no support from government services makes this a very real issue. I personally would not lay my loved on a sidewalk.

Although a few legalities arise, I believe independent burials by individuals could be legally defensible to local officials once the dust settles.

Consider these facts: No state requires that a funeral home be used. No state requires embalming either, although most states require burial of unprepared remains to occur within 24 hours of the death.

Most regulations concern reporting the death and perhaps requiring an autopsy if the death is suspicious or was unattended, or pertain to where remains can be buried. It's entirely possible to be buried on your own property if you wish, providing it's not near a water source, etc, and some communities require a concrete grave liner. Burial on your property will be your best bet in a catastrophe.

Rule out cremation right now. Burning, as any homicide detective will tell you, is a terrible way to dispose of human remains. It doesn't work "at home"; it takes hours at very high temperatures to completely cremate a body.

Burial is the quickest, most sanitary way to dispose of a body. Select a spot away from the home and where contamination with your water source will not be an issue.

Since this is likely a friend or loved one there will naturally be emotional issues that must be dealt with. I recommend that you treat the death as you normally would -have a memorial if there's time and allow others to pay respects or view the body if they wish. This obviously assumes that the death did not occur from an epidemic and that infection is not a concern.

Most families have traditions in the event of a death. Observe these as closely as time and circumstances allow. This will help prevent additional trauma to you and everyone else with whom you share quarters, especially the children.

Build a casket if there are materials, but this may not be possible. If not, I recommend wrapping the body in layers of cloth or plastic sheeting to protect the remains as much as possible (in the event that they must be disinterred after the disaster for legal reasons) and preparing the grave.

Dig the grave as deeply as possible, 4-6 feet. Cover it with rocks once the body is interred, both to mark it and to help prevent its being disturbed by animals.

Document the death as much as you can, in other words, create your own death certificate. Have witnesses, if any, sign it and attest to the circumstances of the death. Note where the body was buried. Include the date and time of death, the decedent's name and address if known, and the cause of death if it can be determined. Make notes as to medical history as this will be helpful later - "He was a diabetic for 20 years and we ran out of insulin."

When the disaster is over, report the death to the proper authorities. The worst that can happen is that you'll be cited for "dumping a body" and that's usually a fine. Under the circumstances I can practically guarantee that this won't happen, as there are many more crises that FEMA will be dealing with, and you did not act with criminal intent but out of sheer necessity. The body may or may not have to be disinterred and reburied elsewhere - such as a proper cemetery - depending on local laws.

Good luck.

New wave of bird flu, and fears, hits Europe ​

By Elisabeth Rosenthal International Herald Tribune
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2006

With new reports of dead wild swans cropping up Wednesday from Denmark to Italy, officials in countries across Europe strengthened measures to ensure that the H5N1 virus did not spread from migrating birds to domestic poultry.

At the same time, the officials tried to damp down panic among consumers in many countries, reassuring them that it was safe to eat chickens. In the past three days poultry sales in Italy have dropped by more than 50 percent.

"What we are seeing is that the surveillance system in Europe is very, very good, since we're picking up disease in migrating swans," said Juan Lubroth, senior veterinary official at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. "If anything, this should increase people's confidence in their food. We're seeing it in migrating swans, not in chickens."

H5N1 was confirmed in a type of migratory swans in Greece, Bulgaria and Italy on Saturday, and in Germany on Wednesday. Probable cases were detected in the same species in Slovenia and Croatia on Sunday, in Austria on Monday and in Denmark on Tuesday.

The reports of swans infected by H5N1 have trickled in from a huge swath of Europe over the last several days, challenging experts' views on patterns of bird migration. Extremely cold weather in the past month in Russia may have driven birds further west into Europe, the experts said.

A number of countries, including some that had not yet reported any disease, mandated on Wednesday that all domestic poultry be kept indoors to prevent any contact with migrating birds.

For example, Agriculture Minister Dominique Bussereau of France said that all birds in France "must be confined," after a ministerial meeting.

Experts had not expected to see bird flu arriving in Europe until this spring at the earliest, carried by birds moving back from Africa to Europe and Asia.

The cases in Germany and Denmark were "unexpected," Lubroth said since the assumption was that bird migration had largely ended at this time of year and would not be seen in such northern regions. He and others stressed, however, that very little is known about how and where specific species migrate with the seasons, beyond broad patterns.

"We will probably learn a lot about bird migration by discovering where the H5N1 virus crops up," said John Oxford, a virologist at Queen Mary Hospital in London.

Kath Harris, a spokesperson for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in England, said that many scientists believed that usual migration routes had shifted due to extremely cold weather in Russia and Ukraine over the past month.

The type of swans that has succumbed to H5N1 in recent days normally flies from these countries to the Black Sea in a migration that usually ends in December, she said.

"But it appears that their flight paths have shifted farther west and it is still going on, probably because of cold weather," she said.

No domesticated poultry have so far tested positive for H5N1 in European countries where the dead swans have been found, though officials are conducting intensive checks at nearby poultry farms. There have been no reports of human disease.

While the H5N1 virus does not readily infect humans and is not known to spread from person to person, scientists have worried that the virus might one day acquire that ability through naturally occurring processes, setting off a worldwide pandemic.

So far only about 160 people have become infected with bird flu, after close contact with infected birds.

For the moment, the far greater problem for Europe is that an outbreak of H5N1 can rapidly decimate a national poultry industry. The virus, which is both highly contagious and lethal to birds, often kills tens of thousands of poultry at a time; all birds in a wide surrounding region must be culled preventively to prevent spread of the virus.

The countries that ordered domestic birds to be kept indoors acted because the virus can survive in bird feces and in lake water for several days. Several countries - including Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands - had such bans in place for farms last autumn, but lifted them last month when migrating season was presumed to be over.

The European Union announced Wednesday that its Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health would be reviewing the situation in meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. In the meantime, the commission outlined special measures to be taken in regions where bird flu was confirmed or suspected in swans.

In a protected zone measuring 3 kilometers, or 1.8 miles, from any site where dead swans are found, poultry had to be kept indoors and could not be transported, except to slaughterhouses. In addition, in a 10 kilometer-wide surveillance zone, birds would be checked for signs of disease and hunting would be banned.

Despite such reassurances, the wholesale price of chicken in Italy fell over the weekend from just under El, or $1.19, a kilogram to about 75 euro cents on Wednesday, the Italian media reported. The bird flu virus is killed by cooking, and so there is no danger from eating well-cooked meat or eggs, even from an infected bird.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/15/news/flu.php

Austria

UPDATED: 07:46, February 16, 2006

Second tests confirm H5N1 bird flu strain in Austria ​

A second series of tests on Wednesday on two dead swans confirmed the existence of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, said a health official for Styria province, Austria.

Results from preliminary tests on Tuesday at a laboratory in the lower Austrian town of Moedling indicated that the swans found dead at a reservoir near the south-east Austrian city of Graz might have infected with the deadly virus.

The samples have been sent for further confirmation to the European Union reference laboratory in Weybridge, England, and the results is expected early next week, said Styria province's agriculture councilor Hans Seitinger.

Austria's Health Ministry said on Tuesday that a 10-km surveillance zone had been established around where the dead birds were found. The province's government in Graz has told the farmers in risk areas to keep their poultry indoors.

Health Minister Maria Rauch-Kallat said there was "no immediate danger" to human beings. However, she warned against any contact with dead birds found in the wild.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200602/16/eng20060216_243096.html

No state requires that a funeral home be used.

Click to expand...

Yes in GA they do require that a licensed undertaker bury the body. They made this law after the flack of the guy in NW GA who didn't creamate the corpses but just had them all over his grounds when his furnace went down.

Possibly they will say it is ok to bury your dead in GA in a pandemnic but how would you know if communication is down?

This is a good topic to consider. I know I've never thought about what I'd do in this situation. My hubby is a mountain, so I'd be in a world of trouble if it were left to me to take care of him.

It's something I'll keep in mind next time our EMS director is talking. I'm sure he'd know or would be able to find out what the laws are here in PA.

WEll, if one of us dies, guess we will get planted, in the orchird, back of the house.

Hiding the death is a crime, OBO

Follow the guidelines above for safety. You can document the death and lead authorities to the body later. The worst that would happen is that you MIGHT be cited for illegally dumping a body. You did not act out of criminal intent but out of sheer necessity.

I don't think you can catch the flu by handling the body since it's an airborne virus. Simply wash well afterwards. You wont' be inhaling the person's breath or ingesting their body fluids, although rubber gloves are a good idea.

Again, RULE OUT CREMATION. It takes hours at VERY high temperatures, hotter than a wood fire can maintain, to cremate a body. You'll be left with nasty charred remains to handle, and considering that this is your loved one....recipe for disaster and more trauma to the survivors. There will also be less evidence to protect you from legal action by the authorities later.

Check out funerals.org

This page tells about caring for your own dead, including state laws:
http://www.funerals.org/caring.htm

Hiding the death is a crime, OBO

Click to expand...

Not sure why you said that. ?

I didn't say anyone should hide the body if their family member dies of Bird flu. I just said legally only an undertaker in GA can bury the dead.

The guy in NW GA got bodies from undertakers who had all the at that time paperwork done on them. He was suspose to creamate them but his furnace went out so he couldn't burn them so he buried them or just let them sit in sheds. He didn't hide any death either.

Explanation

The man in Georgia was violated several laws, including abuse of a corpse, breach of contract, and deceptive business practices, just to name a few.

A person hastily burying their loved one in an epidemic is not hiding a death, abusing a corpse, etc. The most they could be cited for is illegally dumping a body, which is a fine in most states. Since there's an epidemic and resources are limited, it's likely this would be thrown out of court very quickly - if it even got that far.

The corpse was not being abused, the person was not trying to conceal a death, engage in fraud, or deliberately trying to evade the law. In fact, since you'd report the death at the first opportunity, you'd be within the law

From: Global Messenger
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 10:47 AM
To: **** EMPLOYEES CORPORATE
Subject: Avian Flu Update

February 15, 2006

MEMORANDUM TO: ALL **** EMPLOYEES

FROM: <<<<<<
Director

SUBJECT: Avian Flu Update

In response to the many questions which we are receiving from employees this memorandum confirms that the **** is monitoring government-wide efforts to address the threat of an avian flu pandemic. <<<<<, Environmental Health and Safety Manager, and >>>>>, Assistant Director, Security Management Section, are in continuous contact with the Departments of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Homeland Security (DHS), respectively. A national strategy to address the threat of an avian flu pandemic is being developed under the direction of DHS. Steps are being taken to revise the **** Business Continuity Plan for response to a potential pandemic. In addition, our **** safety and security staff actively participate in briefings, seminars and working groups involving emergency preparedness officials from the DHS and public health experts from DHHS, as well as local emergency officials. The **** will keep employees apprised of significant developments.

There is currently no vaccine available that is capable of protecting humans against the avian influenza. Moreover, the anti-viral medication, Tamiflu, will not prevent a person from being infected with the avian flu virus, but will reduce the number of days (normally 1-2) an individual has virus-related symptoms. **** will rely on the recommendations of public health officials regarding the implementation of any preventive vaccines or medications when they become commercially available.

Information regarding the national strategy for addressing the avian flu pandemic can be obtained by visiting the White House website located at http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/panemic-influenza.html. Additional information regarding the avian flu virus can be obtained from the U.S. government’s avian flu website located at http://www.pandemicflu.gov/ .

If you have questions or need additional information please contact <<<<< at (###) ###-#### or >>>>>> at (###) ###-####.

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**** = Federal agency

BREWER

Thanks PCViking for bringing up this very important aspect of dealing with one of the inevitable consequences of pandemic flu. During the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu pandemic the shortage of caskets and grave diggers was acute. I plan to have caskets and the grave(s) already dug in anticipation if this goes efficient H2H. If anyone thinks this is morbid just consider what you or your family members will be up against if they/you are weakened from having contracted the actual flu[H5N1] or the pnuemonia that followed up on the survivors of the Spanish Flu and that may follow the H5N1 virus, too. If/when food supplies become rationed or worse, critically scarce due to delivery disruptions, each of us will be in a more weakened condition to dig the grave(s) especially if it is winter and the ground is partially frozen especially if you live up north. It may be all you can do to find a neighbor to assist you to carry the body of your loved one out of the house and out to the grave site. If this[H5N1] goes the way of H1N1[Spanish Flu] everyone will be fearful to help a neighbor out for fear of infecting themselves and their own family members. Review the PBS series on the Spanish Flu titled Secrets Of The Dead: Killer Flu and Influenza 1918: The Worst Epidemic In American History available from their web site. After you view these films and hear the tales from the now elderly survivors you will really think this one through carefully. I purchased both. The better of the two is the latter. Burial will be an extremely important item to address before it becomes a necessary exercise.

One of the biggest misconceptions (which is promoted by TPTB) is that there have not yet been H2H infections. In fact, there have, ever since early 2004 - in family clusters. The flu is transmissible through direct contact with body fluids - tears, saliva, feces, vomit, blood, etc. There have been many cases now where there has been sequential infection in families, but no effective H2H transmission with health care workers or outsiders (needs to be minutely airborne for that to happen).

In fact, there's great concern by officials right now in Indonesia because they're seeing more family clusters with every passing day. Interestingly enough, it seems that there is some kind of genetic element that determines which family members get sick, and which ones die (they've had almost no cases where both husband and wife got sick - usually one parent plus the kids).

So.... yes, corpses will likely be very infectious. You don't want to bury them near either a watershed/water supply source or a septic system.

By the way, dogs, cats, pigs, and possibly other mammals as well as domestic poultry and waterfowl can be infected with H5N1. Burial of animals needs to be done very carefully and cautiously as well - no burning! Sends the virus right into the air, apparently.

This whole thing is mushrooming so fast - one or two more small changes in the gene sequence, and we're toast. People who aren't paying attention are going to be part of the thinning of the herd by Mother Nature.

I am FAR FAR FAR more worried about BF than I am about Iran, earthquakes, asteroids or any other item on the dread menu.

PCViking said:

Preparing for pandemic: know how to bury your dead​

We talk about how people should bury their dead in their backyards, how far from the septic systems," said Dorothy Teeter, director of the King County public health department in Seattle.

Click to expand...

That comment has me baffled? Why should I care if my septic system becomes further contaminated? The whole point of a septic system is to safely dispose of contamination while protecting ground water.

Well, If it was my hubby, I'd just have to close the door to the room and hope it didnt stink too bad. I could maybe wrestle the body around enough to cover it in plastic or something, but I'd never be able to drag it out to the backyard, let alone dig a 6 foot long hole 4 or 5 feet deep.

FWIW, I had an elderly patient years ago, who remembered in detail the pandemic of the early 1900's. She couldn't remember much else though.

She told me the story about the "meat wagons". Wagons drawn by horses came through the neighborhood to pick up corpses. I believe that families would indicate that there was a death in the home by placing a makeshift flag of sorts out front of the house, in some specific color to indicate the death.

She also told me that everyone knew, it was common knowledge that all of the folks that passed away were buried in mass graves. Coffins were either in short supply or unavailable in the area.

Dusty Lady said:

FWIW, I had an elderly patient years ago, who remembered in detail the pandemic of the early 1900's. She couldn't remember much else though.

She told me the story about the "meat wagons". Wagons drawn by horses came through the neighborhood to pick up corpses. I believe that families would indicate that there was a death in the home by placing a makeshift flag of sorts out front of the house, in some specific color to indicate the death.

She also told me that everyone knew, it was common knowledge that all of the folks that passed away were buried in mass graves. Coffins were either in short supply or unavailable in the area.

Click to expand...

Out of love and respect to any of my family members who may pass during an epidemic, I could never put my loved one on a meat wagon. If I had to sit on my bum and dig for days in order to bury them, I would do that.

What a terrible thought.

If someone thinks they may have a body to large or heavy for them to move remember how large rock were moved hundreds of years ago and use the same principle. For a prep you might try to get some 2 inch PVC pipe cut to size now for the rollers. Put the body on a door or board and tie it on. Lift one end and put the PVC pipe under then roll a bit forward and put another and taking the end one about to roll out to the front each time. I would think you may need about 4 or 5 pipes cut about 33 inches. Only that large as you will have to get them through the door and most doors are about that size or 36 inches at most.

why am I now reminded of that scene from monty python and the holy grail????

The Dead Collector: Bring out yer dead.
[a man puts a body on the cart]
Large Man with Dead Body: Here's one.
The Dead Collector: That'll be ninepence.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not dead.
The Dead Collector: What?
Large Man with Dead Body: Nothing. There's your ninepence.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not dead.
The Dead Collector: 'Ere, he says he's not dead.
Large Man with Dead Body: Yes he is.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not.
The Dead Collector: He isn't.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm getting better.
Large Man with Dead Body: No you're not, you'll be stone dead in a moment.
The Dead Collector: Well, I can't take him like that. It's against regulations.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I don't want to go on the cart.
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, don't be such a baby.
The Dead Collector: I can't take him.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I feel fine.
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, do me a favor.
The Dead Collector: I can't.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, can you hang around for a couple of minutes? He won't be long.
The Dead Collector: I promised I'd be at the Robinsons'. They've lost nine today.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, when's your next round?
The Dead Collector: Thursday.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I think I'll go for a walk.
Large Man with Dead Body: You're not fooling anyone, you know. Isn't there anything you could do?
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I feel happy. I feel happy.
[the Dead Collector glances up and down the street furtively, then silences the Body with his a whack of his club]
Large Man with Dead Body: Ah, thank you very much.
The Dead Collector: Not at all. See you on Thursday.
Large Man with Dead Body: Right.

Click to expand...

Comment..

Who cares if it is like the black plague. 6.5 billion people world wide and if half die.

Originally Posted by Delta
I figure the last of us alive (just DW and me) will just torch the house and do suicide when it's well involved in flames. (It's against the law to burry someone outside of a registered cemetery and w/o death certificate, and I'd sure hate to break the law and/or cause law enforcement any extra paper work.)

Wouldn't it be ironic if this was all a Big Pharm hype to get us to buy more drugs?!

Click to expand...

If a big die off happens, and the law enforcement still cares, as if they too will not be putting their own loved ones in the ground. Just get it over with, worry later.

I hope for the best, tho..

Switzerland

Swiss examine dead swans for bird flu​

16/02/2006 - 10:42:32

University experts are examining three dead swans found in central Switzerland to see if they were infected with bird flu, authorities said today.

The swans were found in the central cantons (states) of Aargau, Solothurn and Schwyz, said Marcel Falk, spokesman for the federal veterinary office.

The discovery of the dead swans was reported to authorities yesterday, Falk said. Results could be expected before the weekend.

About 600 swans die of normal causes every year in Switzerland, 300 of which are normally noted by the authorities, Falk explained.

Heightened surveillance measures because of the threat of bird flu could be leading to a higher count of swans dead due to normal causes than usual, he said.

http://www.eecho.ie/news/bstory.asp?j=172931170&p=y7z93y876&n=172931930

Indonesia

2006/02/16

Two Indonesians die of bird flu ​

01:58:16 È.Ù
Jakarta, Feb 16 - Two Indonesians suffering symptoms of avian influenza died on Thursday after being treated for a day at the country's main hospital for bird flu patients, an official said.

The 15-year-old girl and 27-year-old man died within hours of each other after being admitted to the Sulianti Saroso hospital in the capital early Wednesday, a spokesman for the hospital, Ilham Patu, said.

He said local tests had yet to show whether they were infected with the H5N1 virus but if they did, officials would then ask a World Health Organisation (WHO)-affiliated laboratory in Hong Kong to confirm the findings.

If they are positive, it would bring the number of fatal cases in Indonesia this year alone to nine -- the highest reported globally.

mk

http://www.iribnews.ir/Full_en.asp?news_id=207741&n=39

Germany

Germany probably had bird flu for months - minister​

Thu Feb 16, 2006 10:34 AM GMT

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany probably had avian flu for some months before tests earlier this week confirmed that dead birds had carried the virus, a state agricultural minister said in a TV interview on Thursday.

Till Backhaus, from the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern where the birds were found, said the affected mute swans were not migratory and tended to stick to one area.

"This is why I assume ... that the virus must have been introduced in autumn," Backhaus told public broadcaster ZDF.

German authorities said on Wednesday that two swans and a hawk found on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen were infected with H5N1. Further tests should confirm later on Thursday whether it was the highly pathogenic strain transmittable to humans.

Local officials said on Wednesday some 100 dead swans had been spotted in the affected area.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the southern state of Bavaria have already banned farmers from keeping poultry outdoors. A nationwide ban takes effect on Friday.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/new...01_L16697261_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BIRDFLU-GERMANY.xml

Romania

Romania identifies H5N1 bird flu in dead poultry​

Thursday 16 February 2006

BUCHAREST (AFX) - Dead poultry found in southeastern Romania have tested positive for the H5N1 form of bird flu, an official of the veterinary health
agency said.

Samples from dead poultry found in the village of Vlahi will be sent next
week to a European Union reference laboratory in Britain to test whether they
carried the "highly pathogenic form of the virus (which can be) transmitted to
humans", said Gabriel Predoi.

http://freeserve.advfn.com/news_Romania-identifies-H5N1-bird-flu-in-dead-poultry_14219240.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25149-2042443,00.html

Germany

Germany: H5N1 bird flu confirmed in dead swans​

16/02/2006 - 11:46:33

Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer today said that tests have confirmed two swans found dead in northern Germany earlier this week carried the H5N1 bird flu virus.

The tests were carried out by Germany’s Friedrich Loeffler Institute, a federal animal health institute.

Seehofer said the virus was “a sub-strain like that which was first registered in wild birds in China last year”.

http://www.eecho.ie/news/bstory.asp?j=73977014&p=739773y6&n=73977394

http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=cp_health_home&articleID=2172418

Wednesday, Feb 15, 2006
Grim realities of health-care in a flu pandemic: experts

MINNEAPOLIS (CP) - Health-care delivery during a flu pandemic won't remotely meet current standards of care - and the public isn't prepared for that fact, leaders from the health-care sector warned Wednesday at a conference on business continuity planning for a pandemic.

Modern medicine could give way to severely rationed care, reused and jerry-rigged masks to protect health-care workers, and debates over when and when not to use scarce syringes, speakers at the conference predicted.

"We are going to run out of things we're not used to running out of," said Stewart Simonson, assistant secretary for public health and emergency preparedness in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

His department has commissioned research looking at whether hospital masks could be safely reused during a pandemic if new supplies are unavailable or scarce.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200602/s1571384.htm

Bird flu pandemic would 'kill millions, shut down economy'


Modelling of the consequences of a global outbreak of bird flu has predicted a worldwide recession and a massive death toll.

Two papers have been released showing the likely impact of a pandemic.

The Lowy Institute for International Policy says the deadly strain of the bird flu is a likely candidate for the next human influenza pandemic.

The institute and the Australian National University (ANU) have modelled the potential impact of a global pandemic.

They found there could be more than 142 million deaths worldwide, including 214,000 in Australia.

Researcher, Professor Warwick McKibbin, says the worst case scenario would also have a devastating economic impact.

"Once we get up to the ultra scenario, really all bets are off because even modelling that in our model was extremely difficult," he said.

"Because you're almost closing down the world economy."

Federal treasury has released its own study, finding a nationwide flu outbreak would kill 40,000 Australians and lead to a loss of GDP of more than 5 per cent.

Pre-Y2K I bought a dozen bodybags. IIRC I got them from a company in Texas for under $50. They even tossed a handful of casualty cards as a bonus .

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/news/national/021606b3_birdflu

Thursday, February 16, 2006
Europe getting tough as bird flu worries grow
Fears focus on the start of the migratory season for fowl that are now in Africa.

The Associated Press


GENEVA - European governments are bolstering their guard against bird flu, faced with a growing number of dead swans and the risk that migratory birds that begin returning next month could bring the disease from Africa.

Concerns about the disease and its possible threat to humans have mounted.

"Avian influenza is a big threat," Dr. David Nabarro, the U.N.'s top bird flu specialist, said yesterday. "It is spreading throughout the world."

Song birds are expected to start arriving in southern Europe from Africa in two weeks.

They are judged to be less likely carriers of bird flu than ducks and other water fowl because song birds fly longer distances and tend to stay away from wetlands, where the disease is most prevalent.

The migration period is heaviest in March and April, but runs into May for some species.

France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Sweden all took steps to try to prevent the spread of the deadly H5N1 strain, ordering that domestic fowl be kept in screened, ventilated buildings, where they are less likely to come in contact with wild birds.

Britain and the Netherlands have yet to record bird flu outbreaks, but ordered similar precautions.

Bird conservationists cautioned against a rush to judgment.

They maintain that bird flu most likely reached Nigeria in poultry trade from Turkey and China.

Veterinary specialists said they have yet to determine how the disease arrived in Africa, but that measures being ordered by European officials yesterday were prudent.

The fear of birds migrating from Africa has been augmented by the deaths of swans from the Baltic Sea to the southern tip of Italy.

Because of their susceptibility to bird flu, swans are among the first birds to die from the disease, giving an indication of where it is present, experts said in interviews.

Bird flu has killed at least 91 people since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.

Almost all the human deaths have been linked to contact with infected poultry, but experts fear the H5N1 virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, possibly sparking a pandemic.

Dr. William Karesh, director of the field veterinary program for the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, said it was likely the virus spread from Asia in a leapfrog fashion, with one bird picking it up from another, rather than one bird flying a long distance with the disease.

Experts are concentrating on Nigeria, where three states have confirmed H5N1 among domestic poultry and five others have suspected cases.

Scientists assume migratory birds brought the disease to Africa, but have found no proof.

"We don't know how the disease got into Nigeria," said Juan Lubroth, head of the infectious disease group at the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization.

Maria Cheng of the World Health Organization said the disease could continue to be primarily a bird affliction.

But experts still fear it could mutate into a virus that could transmit easily among humans and cause a pandemic.

"After we saw H5N1 in Turkey, that drove home the point that we would not be able to predict with any accuracy where H5N1 would go next. It looks like it's the same virus that was in western China last year," Cheng said.

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=244322006

One-mile zone plan to stop UK bird flu spread

ONE-MILE exclusion zones would be established if wild birds in Britain were found to be infected with deadly avian flu.

The emergency plan was announced following confirmation that bird flu has been found in wild swans in Germany, Austria and Denmark.

The exclusion zones, similar to those which operated during the foot-and-mouth crisis five years ago, are designed to protect humans and stop poultry from becoming infected by wild birds.

All movements of poultry would be halted inside the exclusion zones, footpaths may be closed and all poultry and pigs in the area would be tested for the virus. If any are infected, the entire flock or herd would be slaughtered.

There would also be six-mile surveillance zones, with strict veterinary checks on any poultry or pig farms. Farmers in the surveillance zone would need a licence before allowing any of their chickens to enter the food chain.

The controls would last at least 21 days in exclusion zones and 30 days in surveillance zones.

http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?id=65866

6/02/2006 - "The fear "psychosis" caused by avian flu is devastating Italy's poultry sector, with consumption falling by 70 per cent in the country, the Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori reported yesterday. "


( link for rest of story)