Sharpe
Senior Moderator
Interesting description. Actually, I had a four-hour conversation yesterday with three people who were returning to Singapore in a couple days. We briefly discussed bird flu, and they remarked at how afraid Singapore is, and how comparatively unafraid it's neighbor Malaysia is. They were telling me about how Singapore blocked poultry from affected areas in Malaysia. I asked how self-sustaining the country was in terms of food, and you can guess what they said. Anyway, I find a lot of these preparations amusingly concerning. I mean, by my estimates, as soon as the need was realized and such emergency preparations began, it would take less than 2 weeks before the entire medical and airport communities would catch it, and the whole thing would come to a screeching halt. Personally, with all of my 20 years of primary, secondary, undergraduate and graduate school education in biology, I can't even imagine how one would truly be able to even slow down a pandemic, let alone stop it. All I know is that the response would have to be massive, sustained, and begin 10-20 years beforehand and involve all aspects of human life on this planet. For your interest, I've also attached a map of the Singapore area.
http://www.omanobserver.com/Daily/World/World6.htm
World news
Singapore holds giant flu pandemic exercise
SINGAPORE ? Singapore yesterday began a two-day simulation of a flu pandemic in a large-scale exercise involving its international airport, a border crossing to Malaysia and several hospitals. More than 1,000 health workers and public servants from other agencies were to take part along with about 500 volunteer ?patients?, the ministry of health said.
At the public Tan Tock Seng Hospital, one of seven hospitals participating in the drill, staff were on alert as if a real crisis had occurred. All wore white gowns and gloves and covered their faces with masks. ?Our hospital is conducting an emergency exercise,? a sign advised, in an effort to prevent panic. Visitors passed a thermal scanner, similar to the type now used at airports to check for travellers ill with fever.
They also filled out forms asking if they had been in contact during the previous two weeks with confirmed or probable influenza patients, dead birds, or had been to countries affected by the virus. A person who answered ?yes? to any of the questions and who had a fever was given a surgical mask and sent to the emergency department for further screening. ? AFP
http://www.omanobserver.com/Daily/World/World6.htm
World news
Singapore holds giant flu pandemic exercise
SINGAPORE ? Singapore yesterday began a two-day simulation of a flu pandemic in a large-scale exercise involving its international airport, a border crossing to Malaysia and several hospitals. More than 1,000 health workers and public servants from other agencies were to take part along with about 500 volunteer ?patients?, the ministry of health said.
At the public Tan Tock Seng Hospital, one of seven hospitals participating in the drill, staff were on alert as if a real crisis had occurred. All wore white gowns and gloves and covered their faces with masks. ?Our hospital is conducting an emergency exercise,? a sign advised, in an effort to prevent panic. Visitors passed a thermal scanner, similar to the type now used at airports to check for travellers ill with fever.
They also filled out forms asking if they had been in contact during the previous two weeks with confirmed or probable influenza patients, dead birds, or had been to countries affected by the virus. A person who answered ?yes? to any of the questions and who had a fever was given a surgical mask and sent to the emergency department for further screening. ? AFP
