Why You Should Worry About a Bird Flu Pandemic

You may have heard a lot in the news lately about an avian flu pandemic. You've probably been thinking "what does that have to do with me?" There is always something to worry about, right? Natural disasters, terrorism and now a flu pandemic? The first two: natural disasters and terrorism have a lot in common. Both attack without warning, leaving death and destruction in their wake. affect a local area. Now, in the event of a natural disaster, that area can be quite large, however it does not always affect the entire country or the world population. In the worst case, usually thousands of deaths and hundreds of millions of damages. A meteorite hitting the planet will likely affect everyone on Earth. An exploding super volcano could affect the entire planet. Those are the scenarios that scientists play on their computers to see what could happen. The chances of that happening are far less than tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes.

Let's take terrorism. Still, it is a very real threat and should not be taken lightly. Lives are lost and damage in the millions of dollars can be inflicted. But terrorists attack even more locally than natural disasters. If terrorists attack a major metropolitan area, it will affect that area and only affect the rest of the country. The deaths are in the immediate area, the damage is limited to the local area again. An exploding nuclear weapon, albeit a local one, would have a much bigger impact on more people across the country. But life could continue in other areas of the country and the world.

Now let's look at a pandemic. An avian flu pandemic would affect millions of people worldwide, not just local populations. The death rate could be between 5 million and 100 million or more. The economic consequences would be catastrophic. The World Bank has estimated that a year-long pandemic could cost the world economy $ 800 billion. It would affect the lives of all Americans.

When your New York business depends on Texas deliveries and those deliveries can't be made because everyone in Texas is sick, then it will affect your business and the lives of your employees. Now multiply that in every state and around the world, then you could start to see why a bird flu pandemic could have such a far-reaching impact. Millions of sick workers, schools, businesses closed, transportation interrupted. Financial markets in chaos, overwhelmed hospitals, loss of income, and financial delinquency. The list could go on. An avian flu pandemic would be catastrophic, much more so than any natural disaster or terrorist event.

At this time, the possibility of a pandemic coronavirus is quite low. Human-to-human transmission has not been confirmed, but scientists fear that if the virus mutates into a form that is easily transmitted from person to person, then the chance of a pandemic will increase. Health experts say it is only a matter of time. While federal, state and local governments are beginning to prepare, many have not started and do not have the funds available to plan for an avian flu pandemic.

Your best defense is to stay informed about bird flu and bird flu. Unlike a natural disaster or terrorist event, an influenza pandemic can be prepared. Well-prepared plans will help you and your family overcome a pandemic crisis and recover faster than those who are not ready.