Of most concern was this quote:

'We want the world to be better prepared than we currently are when an H5N1 virus causes a pandemic,' said Yoshihiro Kawaoka of Tokyo University, a leading researcher on avian flu."

Not "if" but "when"...gotta love when the boys doing the research see it as an eventual outcome, not a possible...sounds like they expect it is likely to happen...Scary news for sure!!

Of all the eventualities that could happen, Earthquake being my first most concern for prepping, this is my biggest worry outside of that, as the potential is very real, and extremely scary and I expect we are due some sort of major outbreak to keep the population in check!

Thanks
OffThePath

There are a couple ways that you can approach prepping one is specifically of a particular event, a favorite toted by Doomsday Preppers. The other the all hazards approach, a broad approach prepping food, water have a plan and use it for any event. The all hazards approach is probably the most common because for the most part if you are ready for one emergency you are ready for another.

There are some scenarios where special plans need to be in place if you want to be able to say "I am prepped for that". EMP's and flue pandemics come to mind in this category. So in line with the intent of this thread what special plans or precautions are you developing and what gear are you collecting to cope with a flue pandemic?

Since I am just getting over my own SHFT to a Flue or Sars Like infection (they are still not sure!)
4 months off work, 4 months sickness and tests

my preps are almost gone, although an injection of cash from my parents re-stocked some of the food, so I can go on from this point!
Food will now be kept in larger containers, shelving and dressers will not be mouse proofed, lost $150 worth there
NO SHAKING hands anymore, ever!
- did not shake hands for 2 yrs, no sickness at all, then I did
hand sanitizer in vehicle soo that every time I get back from touching door nobs or anything in stores/places out, sanitize hands
just keep away from anyone sneezing or caughing, I now politely tell them I have a lung infection to please stand farther back and cover cough or I might die, most do!
actively looking to form a group/become of a group that will live in a sustainable land setup, permaculture, raised bed gardens etc
networking with others to make this happen
will be buying more seeds - store them in mouse proof setup
restock long term preps

few other things as well, not to be mentioned here.
( O yes, since my VAN was stolen this week, getting another vehicle to replace it, so even more money and issues than even the week before.. )
so better luck to everyone whom reads this than I have had, hopefully I have helped a wee bit.

Sorry to hear about your van WR. Nice idea about keeping hand sanitizer in your vehicle, that is a good tip. As far as mice go I know that you have a puppy, what you need now is a nice cat or two. We have four and they are constantly bringing me mice. I just wish they would kill them first! 😈

In line with this thread. In a bit of media hype Piers Morgan had a flu shot on TV. Just to prove that it is safe. Few days later he was down with the flu. Poor Piers. 🙁

Thanks for the reminder! It's time to polish some door knobs and faucets with Clorox or Lysol wipes. A visit to your vehicles interior with those same wipes helps cut down the breeding ground as well.

A few years ago a study was done in Asia and one of the dirtiest surfaces they found was shopping cart handles. The number of people who do NOT wash their hands after using a bathroom is really quite disturbing. I do hope you use those sanitary wipes showing up at grocery store entrances.

Another disturbingly dirty item in your home is your computer keyboard. I stumbled across a solution a few years ago called a 'Seal Sheild' keyboard that I am using to type this message. When it gets dirty you simply slip the silicone USB cover on and toss it in the top rack of the dish washer with the keys facing down. http://www.sealshield.com/products.htm

You know, I just like things that work. 😀

For starters, I wouldn't want that nasty germ-filled USB cover in MY dishwasher with my dishes that I eat off of !
But you are SO right - I keep several spray bottles from the Dollarama: one filled with rubbing alcohol for spraying on toilet handle, bathroom taps, light switch, and door handle....... and put the toilet seat down before you flush (study done on that too - spray flies 10 feet!). I always keep a spray bottle of 'bleachy water' (mostly water with a few tablespoons of bleach) for spraying surfaces like light switches, spray on a cloth to wipe keyboards, telephones, etc. - wipe things down every couple of days during flu season.
And for heaven sake, if you have a young child DON'T let them 'mouth' the shopping cart handle - you're right, it's filthy (you can buy 'shopping cart covers' to refit over and just throw in the washer. I always wash my hands as soon as I get inside the house whenever I've been to town.......... call me paranoid! lol 😉

I always wash my hands as soon as I get inside the house whenever I've been to town.......... call me paranoid! lol 😉

We won't call you paranoid we will call you healthy! 😆

PrepHer, with the caustic solution made by dish washing powder and hot water in your dishwasher there isn't much hope at all for bacteria or a virus to survive through a cycle. Those same nasties that live on your keyboard get transferred to coffee cups and glasses if your drink anything while on the computer. Unless you disinfect your cups and glasses before you load the dishwasher and/or wash your hands every time you finish using your keyboard those nasties end up in your dishwasher.

I wash my hands with antibacterial soap (with 30 to 45 seconds of suds scrub time) about 20 times a day on average and that doesn't stop everything. It's almost impossible to provide a germ free environment but we can improve the germ count to more acceptable levels. Now I'll have a sip of the tea sitting on a coaster beside my monitor and not worry about it.

"...We all really have to can't co-neck the dots can you. Its the chemtrail spraying lowering every one immune system. Its all catching up, all the vaccine you got as a child, all the gmo food your eating, all the fluoride in your water...
...We can prepare ourselves for the affects of chemtrails by researching what is in them. But I'm thinking you don't even want to consider them as anything but normal. That aside, chemtrail spraying could effect our garden soils, water and of course our air. With so many different program for weather modification going on who to know whats what, and isn't it the unknown we prep for..."

Poor Beth, Bless her Heart...she wasn't the most literate person, but she was trying to make a valid point; the fact that she could not express herself properly took away her credibility.
As preppers, we should not shut our minds to anything someone here has to offer...after all, this site does not attract the sheeple...We are supposed to be the more opened-minded, aware people of our society! Nobody should be so quickly discredited; Clearly Beth was not 'savvy' enough to state her case here...but i have no doubt that her strengths lean more towards 'Old School' Common Sense....what a loss for this site. Just my ~now obsolete~ two cents worth...
I found this today, and hope it can give some substance to her 'argument'. This is a link to a 6 minute video, followed by a 46 second video... If you indeed choose to open this link,
*please note* the 3 little words between the videos: "Connect the dots" 😕
http://investmentwatchblog.com/haarp-busted-amazing-satellite-imaging-showing-wave-spiral-coming-from-a-base/
Just one bit of 'food for thought' on the matter: i have heard that whatever they may or may not be spraying, could or could not possibly be meant to maybe react to a chemical that could be forcibly injected under the guise of a 'flu shot' if there were a pandemic...this is all just speculation however...
That being said, i agree that her theories on chemtrails did not belong in this 'FLU SEASON' post...i think HAARP's effects are far bigger and broader reaching than just the 'flu', however i will drop that subject!! I have not been here for months....I've been very sick, in the hospital for weeks, and now more than ever, am concerned with building my immunity naturally and finding alternative methods for staying healthy.
I have a lot of catching up to do here, and have spent hours this morning reading old posts, so I apologize for flogging a dead horse...however i was interested in this topic in light of my 'illness'...In regards to alternative methods for keeping the flu at bay, i am very grateful for the suggestions on the elderberry recipes, as i wish to steer clear of all pharmaceuticals if possible...as for "snopes" discrediting the old wives tale about onions absorbing the flu virus....really? For the price of an onion, I'll keep a couple around...

..."I for one know that the flu virus has been around long before the jet engine.
Through history, it mutates to overcome our bodies natural defenses.
This mutation is a naturally process.
I would attribute our suceptability to this virus more to the germophobic nature of today's society.
When we rid our environment of as many germs as we can, our bodies do not develop antibodies to fight them and we are weakening our own immune systems by sterilizing whatever we come in contact with..."

"...Thanks for the reminder! It's time to polish some door knobs and faucets with Clorox or Lysol wipes. A visit to your vehicles interior with those same wipes helps cut down the breeding ground as well. A few years ago a study was done in Asia and one of the dirtiest surfaces they found was shopping cart handles. The number of people who do NOT wash their hands after using a bathroom is really quite disturbing. I do hope you use those sanitary wipes showing up at grocery store entrances.
Another disturbingly dirty item in your home is your computer keyboard..."

.... 😥 sigh.....
I don't know whether stock up on hand sanitizer or start eating dirt!

De L'eauI wrote "Idon't know whether stock up on hand sanitizer or start eating dirt!"

I think I would do both, metaphorically speaking. 😀