Don't Sleep on The Ebola Virus: That Particular Fat Lady Ain't Sung Yet

Now that the craze has passed, for the most part, you would be hard-pressed to hear much at all mentioned in the news media regarding the disease outbreak that everyone was sure was going to end us all just a few weeks ago. Interestingly enough, though, the outbreak isn't over yet. In fact, we just recently had another death here in the U.S. from Ebola as well as the death of one of the hundreds of New York patients currently being monitored for the disease. That one, thankfully, turned out to test negative for the virus, and I never actually heard what the real cause of death was.

In the meantime, A Brooklyn man – having recently returned from West Africa – started feeling sick on Thursday (20 November). He did the responsible thing and apparently called 911 pretty quickly, resulting in him being rushed to Bellevue Hospital. Since then, we've been told that he tested negative for the virus… yet, for some reason, he remains in isolation as a patient? Interesting.

So, despite the fact that we aren't hearing much about it lately, the current Ebola outbreak hasn't gone anywhere, at least not yet. In fact, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop spoke before the United Nations Security Council recently, referring to the disease as nothing less than a threat to global security.

One very telling detail that a lot of people seem to have overlooked, in my opinion, is the fact that the doctor who recently passed as the 2nd Ebola victim to die here in the U.S. had initially tested negative for the virus. It wasn't until his health continued to deteriorate that further testing confirmed he was suffering from Ebola after all. So what that tells me is that even the testing is not to be trusted.

How are we to know that the lady who died in New York didn't actually succumbed to the Ebola virus after all? And do they know that the testing is inconclusive and are just afraid to tell us that? Is that why the guy at Bellevue, who supposedly tested negative after returning from West Africa and showing Ebola-like symptoms, is still in isolation?

My advice is to get yourself squared away with regard to pandemic emergency preparedness right now, while things are relatively calm. Even if this particular bug doesn't turn out to be the one that threatens civilization itself, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is not an issue of if that particular disease will come along, but rather when that will happen. Prepare now and you will already be ready for the future threat when it comes along!



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Contrary to What Some May Seem to Think, the Threat of Ebola Has Not Passed

Recently, mentions of the recent Ebola outbreak here in the U.S. have slowly begun fading into the background of the media Zeitgeist. It is still mentioned, of course, but it is less and less being concentrated upon as the country begins to calm down somewhat. The problem with that, though, is that the possible future threat caused by this contagion has not yet completely passed, and, even if it does pass us by without turning into a full-blown pandemic, there are many things for us to learn from the way this entire debacle has played out on the global stage.

First and foremost, the disease should never have even spread outside of Africa. Everyone knows that the reason it flourishes there is because much of Africa is made up of small economically downtrodden communities that lack a proper public health infrastructure. That's why it tends to get stamped out more easily when it pops up in Europe or here in the United States. We simply have better systems in place to deal with the problems. But, the fact that it ever spread at all is a failure. An ounce of intervention with respect to public health in these African communities could easily have quelled the the outbreak before it became so serious, and restrictions on travel visas / air travel (and, truly, travel of any kind) from these countries would have gone a long way toward nipping this thing in the bud.

Meanwhile, those of us keeping tabs have witnessed the government doing an unbelievably poor job of handling this outbreak thus far. Never mind the fact that infected individuals were allowed to return home where it was possible for them to infect others, but we also have proof now by way of testimony before Congress that the Department of Homeland Security completely dropped the ball with respect to pandemic preparedness. Basically, they just spent a bunch of money on "stuff" like some lunatic newbie Prepper with more money than sense. No assessment was made beforehand of what would actually be needed or how it would be distributed, and half of it is now expired sitting on government warehouse shelves. Idiocy.

And, in the thick of all of that, it's actually becoming a thing to openly defy the idea of even quarantining people who have been confirmed to have been exposed to the disease until after the period of incubation has passed. You know, so they don't just run around infecting other people while they're having a latte in the mall food court. Maybe I'm an idiot, but that sounds pretty elementary to me. Yet, the whole idea is being criticized, our Idiot-in-Chief is admonishing state-level officials against enforcing quarantines in their own jurisdictions, people are openly defying quarantine orders, and – maybe worst of all – the sons of bitches are actually making me agree with Piers Morgan. Which is, needless to say, enough to drive me up a wall.

But, what is worst of all is the fact that the American people and – in fact – those on the world stage have been utterly misled regarding the future threat of an Ebola pandemic. I have highlighted the many disturbing inconsistencies previously here on Backwoods Survival Blog, but it just seems to keep getting worse and worse. We were told for the longest time that the only way to contract this deadly and virulent contagion was through "direct contact" with an infected individual that involved their bodily fluids, but that is simply not the case anymore.

As I have stated many times, they are essentially playing fast-and-loose with the terminology in an effort to curb panic and mislead people. They will talk until they are out of breath, doing their absolute best to convince you that the disease is not "airborne," while actively downplaying the fact that they now openly admit it can be spread through droplets in the air or upon surfaces. So, it's possible you could be essentially screwed if someone who is infected coughs or sneezes around you or if you are sufficiently unlucky to be the person who touches a doorknob after they do. But, remember, it's not "airborne," so everything is okay. If you believe them, that is. Oh, and we now know that disease particles can live on surfaces for damn near two months in low temperature conditions. You know, like in winter, which just so happens to be bearing down on us!

And every last bit of that is stuff that the supposed "experts" assured us wasn't possible and accused people of being fear mongers every time it was mentioned. Keep that in the back of your skull the next time you are tempted to believe the crap they try to feed us. The sad truth is that it isn't in these people's best interests for any of us to really know how bad it could be. Better we remain uninformed and docile.

My consistent and continuing advice to everyone is to continue being persistent about emergency preparedness with respect to preparing for a future pandemic. Even if Ebola turns out not to become that serious of an issue, it is a known fact that we will eventually face a deadly pandemic in the future. Preparing now only means you will be more prepared when that time comes.



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There's More to Be Afraid of in a Pandemic Than Just the Disease Itself, Part 2

Part One of this article can be read by clicking the link provided.

Before I go any further, please understand that what I am going to write here should not in any way indicate my belief that the current Ebola outbreak will actually amount to a full-blown pandemic. It is something I believe bears watching, however, and it is useful to us in that – Ebola or no Ebola – thinking about what could occur during a fully realized disease pandemic and attempting to prepare for it is something we should all strive toward. Even the most conservative epidemiologists agree that it is not a matter of "if" a terrible pandemic equal to or worse than the influenza plague that rocked the world in the early part of the 20th century will occur, but rather "when." Refusing to prepare for something that is a virtual guarantee eventually is tantamount to stupidity, in my opinion.

Yesterday, here on Backwoods Survival Blog, we talked about the future threat of a pandemic leading to a halting or slow down of the disastrous "just in time" method of shipment utilized by Western societies and its potential to lead to shortages of food and other necessities, resulting in rioting and other violence and what could amount to some very tough times for anyone attempting to make it through to the other side of the disaster. But, unfortunately, that isn't the only thing to fear.

In the midst of a particularly terrible pandemic, it is possible and – in fact – completely legal for the government to essentially ignore our individual rights. Federal statute 42 U.S.C. 264(d) is quite clear on this subject:

"(1) Regulations prescribed under this section may provide for the apprehension and examination of any individual reasonably believed to be infected with a communicable disease in a qualifying stage and (A) to be moving or about to move from a State to another State; or (B) to be a probable source of infection to individuals who, while infected with such disease in a qualifying stage, will be moving from a State to another State. Such regulations may provide that if upon examination any such individual is found to be infected, he may be detained for such time and in such manner as may be reasonably necessary. For purposes of this subsection, the term “State” includes, in addition to the several States, only the District of Columbia.

(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term “qualifying stage”, with respect to a communicable disease, means that such disease—

(A) is in a communicable stage; or

(B) is in a precommunicable stage, if the disease would be likely to cause a public health emergency if transmitted to other individuals."

Now, let me say that this is a particularly muddy issue and it is very easy to see things from multiple perspectives. As for myself, I don't like the idea of an infected person running around free with the potential of spreading the disease to anyone with whom they come in contact. Forcibly mandating that that person be quarantined sounds rather reasonable, but who decides just what is to be considered "reasonable" in a given situation?

We are at the stage with respect to the current Ebola outbreak where it is a relatively simple proposition to quarantine an individual or even a family inside their homes. Plenty of support is available from outside, both medical and logistical, for us to be able to see this through. But what about in a larger, more virulent, and more deadly pandemic, in which larger and larger numbers of people are sick? Four years ago, a study was published in which fully 32% of hospital workers responded that they would likely be “unwilling to respond in the event of a more severe pandemic influenza scenario.” So, who exactly do you think it is going to be taking care of people as they are quarantined in their homes? Never minding the fact that the numbers of people ill with the contagion may very well far outstrip the staffing numbers of healthcare workers anyway.

A far more likely scenario would indicate that, as the population of the ill increases, so does the likelihood that those infected would need to forcibly be moved to quarantine camps. But never doubt that Big Brother won't call them "camps," because of the negative feelings and fear that such wording would engender in a populous that would very likely be on the naked edge already, due to stress and worry. So, they can simply come and take you away against your will to a camp full of other sick people.  This is a difficult pill to swallow, but in order to contain the disease I can see where it could become necessary, despite the poor taste it would leave in my proverbial mouth.

And what if an entire town or city becomes potentially exposed? Well, obviously, that entire locality would be quarantined with no one allowed in or out, except for military and medical personnel. Imagine for an instant that you could wake up one morning to find your town ringed by a barbed wire military blockade, an edict enforced that every family must shelter in place in their homes under curfew as medical personnel in full protective gear go door to door testing individuals and being escorted by men with guns. Sound like a Police State under Martial Law to you? That's because it pretty much would be. And those found to be infected would necessarily be pulled from their homes (forcibly if necessary) and quarantined along with all of the other infected citizens.

Sounds like something out of the film "Outbreak," doesn't it?

What worries me further, though, is that CDC regulations make it clear that that agency has the power to detain people who may not even be sick, in order to observe them and see if they do become sick. I don't know about you, but I don't particularly relish the idea of being dumped into a FEMA Quarantine Camp with a bunch of sick, dying, and contagious people simply as a result of me being suspected of *MAYBE* being sick myself. That would tantamount to a death sentence, because I can't imagine the odds would be in your favor to come out of a place like that free from the illness even if you weren't infected when you went in.

Needless to say, those of us with eyes to see are watching the situation very closely. Even if the current Ebola outbreak fizzles (as we all hope and pray it does), though, there will come another contagion at some point that will become a very real and deadly future threat of a pandemic that could bring what I have written in this article uncomfortably into each and every one of our homes. My advice is to make sure all of your ducks are in a row with respect to pandemic emergency preparedness, and be ready to preventatively "bug in" and shelter in place inside your home if the disease somehow pops its proverbial head up in your area.

There's More to Be Afraid of in a Pandemic Than Just the Disease Itself, Part 1

Picture this: a disease is ravaging the entire country and perhaps even the world. It could be Ebola or influenza or something we haven't even seen yet. None of that really matters. Regardless of just exactly which microscopic killer we are talking about, what really matters is that the results will likely be the same, depending only on the level of seriousness of the pandemic rather than which disease causes it.

What I intend to impress upon you in these articles is that, no matter how virulent or deadly the disease in question happens to be, there is a real chance you could lose your life (and/or the lives of your loved ones) without ever getting sick. And, even if death isn't in the cards, things could get very rough for everyone whether they are sick or not.

The average person has no idea just how intricate the infrastructure of daily life has to be in order for all of us to go about our business and live our lives the way we are accustomed. It is disconcerting, to say the least, to sit and realize just how infinitesimal the strings happen to be from which our modern society dangles precariously, how many things have to occur every day like clockwork for things to continue on without any problems, and just what would occur were some hitch to be thrown into the system, halting it utterly or – at minimum – delaying it by such a margin that the impact is felt greatly.

Virtually everything the average American eats and drinks is trucked to their local supermarkets from an unbelievably long distance away, and everything is computerized. When you purchase a head of lettuce from the grocery store, the computer contacts another computer and makes note that the store needs another shipped to them, so they don't simply run out. So, what happens if things become so bad that the drivers of those supply trucks as well as the workers who load and unload them are either homesick themselves or taking care of family, or they are simply unwilling to make the trip? There could be civil unrest in their city, resulting in them feeling as though they need to stay home to protect their family, or they may simply be fearing a long trip on the open road when things are going in a very bad direction all over the place. We are dependent upon a system of "just in time" delivery, where items are shipped to arrive just in time to go on sale as the previous stock dwindles, and it is a recipe for disaster.

In this scenario, civil unrest is very likely. In 2010, British security services issued a warning to staff members that modern western societies are just 48 hours – or four meals – from anarchy. Others disagree and claim it is nine meals, but you get the picture. Granted, they are referring to Great Britain, but it is comparable to us here in the U.S. In other words, if food shipments do not roll or are delayed it is likely that there will be violence in the streets. Food riots did occur in other countries across the globe in both 2008 and 2011. And in 2012, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, millions of Americans experienced days with little or no food, gas shortages, etc.

We should have taken these experiences as a lesson, but we didn't, and so things could get quite a bit worse were a pandemic to burn through the population like a brush fire. You had better believe that it will go on for a lot more than 72 hours. Now is when you should be putting aside nonperishable food and other essentials to provide for your family in the event of a worst-case scenario. Preparing for the worst doesn't mean you can't hope for the best; it only means you have insurance against other eventualities.

Please keep an eye out for Part Two of this article being published tomorrow.

Ebola: Are They Afraid to Admit That They Are Still Learning Themselves or Is There a Wider Conspiracy to Placate the Public Being Played Out Before Us?

The Blaze ran an interesting article early Monday morning that touched on a subject I have been thinking about a lot recently, namely the subtle changes in language when it comes to how the CDC talks about the Ebola virus in their efforts to keep people informed. I am well aware that some folks may not read that publication or put much faith in it as a result of the source, but this particular article includes actual screenshots of tweets sent out by the CDC and other health officials through official channels that clearly show a discrepancy in what the American public has been told over the past few weeks.

You can read the article yourself at the link I have provided above, but it basically boils down to one of two possibilities: the CDC and other health officials don't really know as much about this disease as they would like us to believe, and they are actually learning themselves as we go along; or, they are being forced to scramble to save face when it comes to public relations, and are essentially changing what they are saying every time a reassurance they have provided proves to be false.

Is the disease spread through the air? For weeks and weeks, the consistent answer was a strict and unequivocal no, but testimony given before Congress on 16 October – in the wake of a second nurse contracting the disease – waffled by changing that to a rather shaky "evidence does not suggest" the disease is spread through the air. I won't dwell on this for too long, seeing as how I have already given my views on this particular subject, but suffice it to say that there is some evidence of viral particles essentially hanging in the air for some time following an infected person coughing or sneezing. They may not refer to that as an airborne disease, but if I can contracted by being next to a person on the bus who sneezes then that is close enough to airborne to meet most people's definition and to make me very uncomfortable. So, take that for what it's worth.

On 8 October, the idea of contracting the disease through an infected person's sweat was something we were told we shouldn't worry about, yet sweat was listed among the bodily fluids through which the disease could pass by the CDC themselves on 16 October. So, which is it? These are the sort of inconsistencies that are steadily putting my already shaky faith in the powers that be in their long-awaited grave.

Again, I can see only two possible explanations: either they don't know what they're talking about and desperately want us to think that they do, or they are purposefully misleading people in an effort to prevent or delay a mass panic that would likely be very destructive. Interestingly enough, if you are a conspiracy-minded tinfoil hat person, you might be interested in the fact that – while all of this is going on – the United States military is forming what is being referred to as a "quick strike team" of five doctors, 20 nurses, and five trainers, who are being made ready to deploy to any location in under 72 hours at anytime during the next month. This, of course, comes to us as the afterthought of a story published by CNN, but it proves that Big Brother is taking the threat of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever very seriously, while quietly assuring all of us plebes that there is nothing to be afraid of and calling us crazy. Also, officials in Guam are updating their pandemic plans – previously geared toward influenza – to include Ebola.

If you haven't already, please read my article about pandemic preparedness from earlier this week and take action to make sure that you and yours are better off, just in case things do go down a dark road and Ebola develops into a full-blown pandemic. Also, tomorrow I'll be publishing an article about what to expect if things really do get bad in the weeks and months to come... there are more dangers than simply the virus itself.

Some People Are Actually Listening

I've spoken many times, here on Backwoods Survival Blog, about the importance of making emergency preparedness part of how you live your life. I am the same in my everyday life. Like I'm sure a lot of you have also experienced, some people listen while others ignore you, but I am happy to say that I have reached a handful of people.

Recently, I mentioned an email conversation I'd had with a friend who was asking for advice on what he needed to go out and purchase by way of being prepared in case the Ebola outbreak becomes an all-out pandemic and either martial law is declared or if he simply wants to isolate his family and "bug in" for a 30 day period to cut down on the chances of any of them being exposed. Well, he actually isn't the only individual I know in everyday life who has approached me on a similar subject, and I wanted to share with you a few of the pictures I have received from folks who are taking emergency preparedness seriously, even if only because of the current situation.

See a few of the pictures below:

Are you ready?

Ebola & Pandemic Emergency Preparedness: Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself and Those You Love (Also Applies to the Future Threats of Other Possible Futue Pandemics)

As I promised you readers in a previous post a few days back, this article will attempt to take a more in-depth look and outline a few things that all of us can easily accomplish in order to better prepare ourselves for and severely limit the odds of our contracting Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever.

As it stands, we currently find ourselves in what can only be thought of as a holding pattern. To date, individuals here in the United States who are confirmed to have contracted the Ebola virus were healthcare workers, who who got it by treating a patient. As for everyone else who worked in the care of that patient or any of the others, the CDC has stated that if a person doesn't show symptoms within 21 days it means they are clear. So, it will be a few weeks before we can be sure the disease hasn't spread any further, and each new confirmed case that may or may not pop up restarts that clock.

In all honesty, that doesn't sound particularly terrible, but one must factor in other possibilities. For instance, any of the people who were on the plane that the second nurse flew on after becoming infected could pop up as cases, and any of them might have passed it on to other people. So, we truly are in a waiting game. And then, there was also the little situation with one of the individuals seen on television as the 29-year-old nurse was being loaded onto the plane to be transferred from Dallas to Atlanta who was not wearing a hazmat suit. The airline provided an explanation for this, stating that his role was to act as the protocol supervisor. Essentially, because the people in the protective suits have limited visibility, etc., this guy is there to give them verbal cues and things like that. Okay. So, does his clipboard make him immune to the Ebola virus or am I missing something? Is anyone out there keeping an eye on him and with everyone he is shaking hands? Checking his temperature every few hours? Because... if not, then it doesn't seem safe to me, regardless of what they say. If that poor girl happened to cough while being loaded on the plane, then that dude could very well be infected.He probably isn't, but it's that kind of stupidity and recklessness that could turn this into a true pandemic. Hell, the whole reason these two nurses were infected in the first place is because this patient should have been sent to another hospital, and even the World Health Organization is now coming to realize that they dropped the ball.

So, in accordance with all of this nonsense going on and while we hope for the best, let's also talk about how to prepare for the worst in case this thing becomes more widespread. Below you will find the things you need to know.

1. Isolate:

I don't care what anyone else tells you, the most effective way to protect yourself from contracting any illness is to stay away from other people. If Ebola becomes a more serious pandemic, that is the worst time possible for you to be doing the emergency preparations that you should be doing right now. Rather, that will be the time to avoid public places (especially indoors), public transportation, and anybody who appears to be sick, whether you think they may have Ebola or not. This will be the time to hunker down and spend a good 30 days at home with your family.If the UPS man comes to my door during that sort of a lockdown, he's quite simply crap out of luck. He's welcome to leave the package on the porch, and I'll retrieve it and disinfectant hours later when any viral particles are likely dormant.

2. Disinfect:

Wash your hands with soap and water and be sure you're doing it for at least 20 seconds. Do your best to get in the habit of avoiding touching your own eyes, nose, and mouth, especially if you haven't washed your hands or sanitized them in a while or if you are in a public place where you might have picked something up. Use hand sanitizer, being sure that you have purchased the kind that is at least 60% alcohol. This is especially true whenever handling anything that has gone through exposure to a lot of people, such as doorknobs and handles in public places as well as money. Don't forget just how many hands a $5 bill passes through in its lifetime. Wipe down surfaces with disposable antiviral wipes.

3. Stuff You'll Need:

– Nonperishable food, but be sure to buy things that you know you and your family will actually eat. If you stockpile 30 days worth of food and nothing happens, all you have is a full pantry. Just like all that stuff into your regular meal plans, and you aren't out anything. Buy a bunch of crazy stuff that is just going to sit on your shelf forever, and the next time something happens you will look back the money you spent, seeing it as a waste, and you may be less likely to get prepared for something that really does occur.

– Bottled water. Personally, I prefer to buy in gallon jugs, which are readily available all over the place including Walmart for almost no money at all.

– Batteries. If the power were to go out, you don't want to be stuck between the choice of sitting in the dark or having to go out in the middle of a pandemic and expose yourself to get what you need. Rather, have it readily available.

– Something to put the batteries in. I prefer lanterns with a hand-crank that take a battery backup, but most people can make do with just flashlights. Also, here is another low-cost option.

– Hand sanitizer with at least a 60% alcohol content

– Disposable antiviral wipes

– Medical-grade rubber gloves, but keep in mind that any set of rubber gloves is better than not having any at all.

– An antiviral disinfecting cleaner, either of the commercial variety or you can simply mix nine parts water to one part bleach.

– Disposable Thermometers

– Heavy-duty trash bags. Be sure to mark anything hazardous as such to protect others.

– If there's any chance you'll be taking in mail or packages that need to be disinfected, be sure to have protective gear. Personally, I'm not going all out and purchasing a full hazmat suit, but N95 HEPA masks, protective goggles, heavy-duty trash bags, and some sheet plastic could definitely come in handy.

I'm sure after publishing this I'll come up with 100 other things I would've liked to have added (and I may very well come back here and add them to this article as needed), but that should give you a very good start toward being prepared for Ebola as well as any other viral pandemic that could be a future threat to us.

Brief Email Conversation with a Friend about Ebola Preparedness

Recently, I received an email from a friend of mine with whom I have had extensive conversations about emergency preparedness and who is – thankfully – not one of the Sheeple. This guy gets it and has already started down the path of getting better prepared, but he wanted me to give him some advice about what would be needed in order for he and his family to "Bug-In" and quarantines themselves at home for a period of 30 days in the event the current Ebola outbreak escalates into a full-blown pandemic and we see martial law instituted, etc..

I'm going to write a much more extensive pandemic preparedness article in the coming week, but I wanted to share this very toned-down version that I spit out to him in a series of short emails. I think it may be important, because it mostly includes fairly inexpensive items one could pick up in a single trip out to Walmart and Lowes. As I said, it wasn't meant to be extensive, but rather a beginning that he could get started on quickly. I also haven't really edited it at all, so please excuse the issues of grammar and things like that, remembering that these were actually emails shot back and forth between two friends who have known each other nearly 20 years:

My friend's emails appear in italics and centered with my responses directly below in bold

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... what do we need to make it on a month long lockdown in the house?

Can't get to what I need right now, but I'll send you a few links this evening. If you're gonna be home with power and water, though, it's mostly just food. Gotta figure out what you consume in a given month.

Have to plan for the power going out though. If this thing goes airborne, then you're looking at martial law. Locked in house. Food and water are not an issue. We started stock piling that yesterday

I'll send you some links this evening, but quick and dirty: go to Lowes this evening and buy a couple of the $16 Utilitech lanterns and a slew of batteries. I have 2 and gonna buy a third for here.

Stock up on hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, maybe 2 bottles of bleach. Those surgical masks from Walmart that people with compromised immune systems wear during flu season. Bottled water, cheap by the gallon at Walmart. If there's a chance the plumbing could go out, hit the camping section for a camp toilet. It's basically a bucket with a toilet seat for a lid. Trash bags and air freshener. A battery-powered or hand-crank (or both) radio. *BATTERIES*. Lots of them. Food that won't spoil without refrigeration. A camp stove and a bunch of little propane canisters for it. It'll be turning much colder soon: think about a propane heater like the Big Buddy and canisters for it (you can buy an adapter separately that let's you use the big propane canisters made for grills). You could conceivably keep your phones charged by using the car, but you can also get hand-crank radios and lanterns that have USB ports for a phone to be charged.

and playing cards. You forgot the playing cards

Lol. Good call. And maybe a boardgame or two. Also, while buying cans of Pork N Beans, soup, and Spaghetti Os, don't forget comfort food for a pick me up. Lunch cakes, chocolate. You get the idea.

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Anyway, that was pretty much the conversation. Just thought I would share it here as a quick and dirty option for some folks looking to get a jump on pandemic preparedness for not a lot of money. As always, your comments are welcome, and please be looking out for my much more detailed pandemic preparedness article this coming week.

The Whole Ebola Situation Just Got Worse

Apparently now there is some corroborating evidence coming to light that makes it sound as though the current Ebola virus strain might actually be airborne at this point. You can ignore this information because of the website that published it if you still haven't caught on to the fact that network news media is a tool of corporations seeking profit and that alternative media is the only *REAL* news left to us. But what I would suggest is that you concentrate instead on the direct quotations contained within the text where medical experts and even the CDC's own documents and criteria are quoted.

Basically, they're playing fast and loose with the wording. Technically, it's not airborne... unless you happen to be in the same room with somebody who's infected and they cough or sneeze. Then, you might be screwed, which sounds awfully close to being airborne to me. Also, the nurse in Spain was the first person outside Africa to contract it. She hadn't been to Africa. It is surmised that she must have contracted the disease when she was helping to treat two missionaries who had returned from Africa and have since died from Ebola. The scary thing is that she walked around with this infection for a while, experiencing a fever as her only symptom. How many people did she infect during the period before she was properly diagnosed? Then, consider that there is evidence of transmission between pigs and monkeys that were kept separate, no contact. And you're hosed if you happen to shake an infected person's hand they sneezed or coughed into and didn't disinfect. Ditto when it comes to doorknobs or any other surface they might have touched right before you.

The fact is, and despite what individuals in positions of power would like us all to believe, it boldly is a much more serious pathogen then how they are making it sound. There is a reason that this bug is classified as a biosafety-level 4 (BSL-4) pathogen. It is no joke. Previously, the CDC had stated that any hospital with isolation capability would be capable of treating Ebola patients, but they quickly had to backtrack. It seems that the recently deceased Ebola patient in Dallas, Texas was the only one so far to be treated in a normal facility, rather than a specialized unit following BSL-4 protocols. And so it shouldn't surprise us that it was at this facility where mistakes were made, resulting in the infection of a healthcare worker caring for that patient.

So, what happens if things go badly and this does turn into an all-out pandemic? Because, apparently, running down to your local ER is going to do you very little good and will probably just result in you infecting other people. But, then again, I suppose you could then be shipped to a hospital with the proper gear, training, and facilities to handle Ebola patients... but you probably shouldn't count on it. Another very scary thing about this outbreak and its chance to develop into a full-blown pandemic is that there is exactly one facility set up to handle things the way they should be, and they can do a pretty good job of taking care of a whopping 10 people.

Still feel good about the things that the CDC are telling you? Well, good for you. But remember, it is their job to do everything in their power *NOT* to cause a panic. And what that really means is that by the time they would ever tell you things are bad, it will already be too late.

The Very Idea of a Pandemic Is Terrifying

I'll be honest with you: the idea of pandemic disease is the one possible future threat that frightens me the most. There's just something about the idea of something that can invade your body without your knowledge, wreak havoc, and ultimately be your demise, while – even worse – using your bodily systems as the Petri dish it needs to possibly mutate and become even more dangerous, and use you as the vehicle through which it spreads itself to the people you love and have sworn to protect. In the long list of things that are often talked about in the Prepper / Survivalist community, I can't think of anything scarier than a particularly virulent pandemic plague loose in the world like a wild brushfire. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a long time might remember that the impetus of my awakening to the need to be prepared was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but it has been the threat of pandemic disease that has always gnawed at me, kept me awake at night, and kept me on the track of emergency preparedness.

With all that being said, it should be no surprise that I have been voraciously digesting all of the coverage of the recent Ebola outbreak. And I have to say, despite all of their reassurances that the situation is not serious, I still keep hearing about things that make me very uneasy. For instance, Congress apparently set aside money for the Department of Homeland Security to stock supplies that will be needed in the event of a pandemic, so they've got a bunch of things like hand sanitizer, antiviral medications, respirators, etc. sitting in warehouses somewhere in the event that it is needed. Sounds great, right? Well, not exactly: it seems that a lot of the perishable items in that stockpile have either expired or will be expiring very soon.

Granted, most of you reading this blog know just as well as I do the falsity of expiration dates. Odds are nothing in those supplies are completely useless, but even the medications that are still safe to consume after their expiration date tend to lose potency and effectiveness over time. So, there's a good chance that if things turn ugly we might at least have a chance at getting some antiviral drugs into our system, but there's no way to know if the dose we receive will do anything for us. I don't know about you, but it irks me pretty badly and frightens me a bit that the Department of Homeland Security hasn't been more on top of that sort of thing.

But it seems they have a difficult time prioritizing their threats. We all know that terrorism and the like are very serious issues that require the attention of the department, but pandemic disease has the potential to kill far more Americans. Even as bad as the attacks on 9/11 were, we lost over 3000 souls... if a pandemic hits this country, we will lose far more than that even in the best case scenario and many of those will be very young children whose immune systems are unable to fight off the disease effectively. Yet, when it is time to dole out funding, pandemic preparedness takes a backseat to the other threats. It is mind numbingly stupid.

And, as if we didn't already have enough to worry about: if this thing develops into a bigger crisis it will also create a terrible strain on the already beleaguered economy as well. Pay close attention to how this thing unfolds, folks. The next few months could be very interesting.

I Just Can't Trust Them

I don't care how hard I try, I simply cannot bring myself to feel anywhere near as safe regarding Ebola as these people so desperately want me to. Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I'm just a conspiracy-minded maniac, thinking tinfoil hat thoughts, but even the CDC admits that Ebola could very well become "the worst pandemic the world has seen since aids."

Yet, they seem to be spending a lot of time and effort in the attempt to make sure we all know that it isn't an easy disease to contract. And, on the surface, that might very well be true. As it stands right now (and barring a mutation of the disease, which – by the way – becomes ever more likely with each patient infected), the only way to contract the disease is through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. That doesn't sound so bad. Unlike healthcare workers, I don't spend a great deal of my time handling other people's blood, etc. But, do you know what I do handle on a regular basis? Doorknobs.

As disconcerting as it may sound, all it would take is for an infected person to sneeze into their hand without properly disinfecting it afterwards and then use the door in a public place. Sure, it may be that the disease can't live long on an artificial surface, but who's to say how far behind that person any of us could be as we unknowingly expose ourselves to a deadly disease.

And one thing we should always remember in the interests of fomenting a healthy skepticism is that, even if things were much worse than they are letting on, there's simply no way they would tell us. It is the job of those in positions of authority to keep from creating a mass panic. I, for one, don't believe very much of what I am told by these people, and so I am preparing for the worst even as I hope and pray for the best.

My prescription is that all of you reading this should prepare accordingly.

---------- Ebola survivor speaks out about how Ebola can escalate