Tuesday, April 28, 2009

3 Reasons to Pay Attention to the Swine Flu

By Kellene Bishop

Is the Swine flu just something on the news, or should you actually be concerned about it from a preparation standpoint? The answer is yes, you should indeed be concerned about the Swine Flu—here are three important reasons why.

First of all, understand the virus itself and you will understand why informed concern is appropriate in this case. It is a mutation which has components of the Avian flu, the regular flu, and Swine flu. Avian flu is dangerous only in that it is transported from birds to people. It cannot be transferred from people to people. However, this strain of the Swine Flu can. So, if it continues to mutate, you can have a virus strain that not only transfers from person to person, but also from birds to people. As you know, birds have very little borders. They are able to spread their disease via the dust and any other airborne particles easily. Because this virus has already demonstrated a successful mutation of 3 different strains, it shows that it will clearly continue to do so. A mutated virus makes creating antigens in your body very difficult. And if YOU can’t even create the antigens, then a scientist cannot do so either. Additionally, this particular strain of flu is very different. Instead of simply attaching to cells in our body, it is actually able to penetrate the cell wall, thus making exposure to antigens much more challenging. This particular strain of influenza, because it is compromised of H1N1 (Swine) and H5N1 (Avian) makes it an extremely penetrable and deadly virus which is rapidly adaptable and virulent. These two strains combined produce a killing potential at a cellular level.

Another reason to be concerned is that the confirmed cases of Swine flu that we have been told by the media to date have been done so through the very limited availability of test kits from the CDC (Center for Disease Control). Understand that only the CDC can “confirm” a case of this type of virus. And the CDC only this week began sending out test kits to parts of the U.S. and to other parts of the world as well. We already have cases which have spread to New Zealand, Scotland, Brazil, Australia, and Canada. What all of this means is that we haven’t even begun to see the real numbers of people affected this flu epidemic. Keep in mind that viruses in general are not living organisms, rather they are protein structures whose only goal is to replicate themselves.

The third reason why we should indeed be concerned is because even if this isn’t “the big one” it is certainly an incident which should wake us from our slumber of apathy. There is much to be learned from this outbreak that can literally save our lives. Looking at this outbreak and analyzing how we can better be prepared in the event that a pandemic affects our country and even the world, is the best way to prepare. However, having said that, I would prefer that you not underestimate the efficacy of this particular outbreak. To do so would be sugarcoating a situation with strychnine. Let’s not forget that facts thus far here. Schools are being shut down. DHS is taking action to be prepared for a possible pandemic. (Compare this to the fact that FEMA can’t even take action until after a serious crisis has occurred—this should tell you something.) The World Health Organization is NOT closing the borders because they state that such an act would be futile since the virus is already established widespread. (Remember what I said about not even having the real numbers yet?) One case of the Swine flu on a plane headed to JFK, La Guardia, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, the San Francisco international airport and you can easily have a pandemic. (Come on. Think about it. You know how incredibly dirty the air on the airplanes are. Do you actually think that the air filtration systems on board will filter out this virus from traveling from one host to another?) Keep in mind that individuals who are carrying the virus may simply be a host. They may carry it to others without necessarily manifesting symptoms of it themselves. So you may assume that you are interacting with a perfectly healthy person, but still contract the virus strain.

I’m not being a fear monger here. As someone who tends to get emotionally involved in the well-being of others, I’m trying to get you to be fully aware of how fast this or other strains like it can spread. It will be incredibly difficult for me to see so many that I know and love exposed to such an illness such as the swine flu. So, given that I do believe you have need to be cautious in this situation and most definitely to learn from it, allow me to share with you how your behavior must change in the event of a full-spread outbreak. Review the following steps so that you can truly be prepared for such an event:

1) Always use a breathing mask outside of your home.
2) Wash your hands constantly and do not remove or put on your breathing mask without having just washed your hands
3) Keep your hands away from your eyes and mouth under all circumstances. (Use a fork even to eat your French fries with.)
4) Do not eat any food which you have not personally prepared
5) Regularly ingest immune system building vitamins and herbs so that you can create a true, non-chemical immunity. Don’t wait until symptoms appear. While viruses tend to mutate and get stronger under chemical attacks, they respond completely differently to non-chemical, strong environments. This is the very kind of culture you can create in your body if you start partaking now of quality herbs, vitamins, and minerals. I STRONGLY suggest that you ingest sublingual (taken under the tongue) or colloidal versions of your nutrition supplements as such methods are actually able to permeate the cells. Taking pills does not have this effect on your body and thus is useless to attacking a strain such as this that burrows into your cell.
I highly recommend you use a colloidal version of minerals. Bacteria simply cannot grow in a mineral environment. (By the way, colloidal silver is another good remedy to have on hand for fighting a myriad of illnesses as well—see my other suggestions in yesterday’s article.)
6) Be sure you wash ALL of your vegetables (even the ones with skins) and meats very well prior to storing or cooking them. Also be sure to wipe off your cans of food prior to opening them. When you do follow these steps also be sure that you keep your hands washed afterwards as well. Here’s a natural wash for your meats and vegetables that you can make yourself.
· 1/4 cup Vinegar
· 2 Tablespoons salt
Fill a clean sink with cold water, (a plastic dish pan also works wonders) add vinegar and salt and let sit 15 minutes, rinse. (The vinegar cleans the fruits and vegetables, while the salt draws out any maggots and such, dirt and other undesirable components. This wash does not adversely affect the flavor at all and vinegar helps take care of the sprays and wax they tend to use.
7) Use a germicide (not a sanitizer) on high-traffic areas in your home such as door and cabinet knobs, telephones, and table edges. I highly recommend the one that Shaklee makes. It’s 100% biodegradable, concentrated, affordable, and incredibly EFFECTIVE. (No, I don’t sell it, but recommend you go here to obtain some www.shaklee.net/earlene)
8) Use Latex gloves when handling items from outside of your home or when assisting other individuals (whether they manifest symptoms or not) outside of your home.
9) Eliminate contact with other people outside of your home as much as is truly possible.
10)Don’t leave your home unless you absolutely have to. In such an instance, be sure that you are adorned with a breathing mask and have latex gloves. (If this particular strain were able to mutate into a flu strain that cannot only be transferred from person to person, but also from birds to person, then it’s critical that you leave your home only at night, not during the day as birds typically only fly during the day light hours.)

I hope this piece gives you further insight into your own preparedness efforts. And I truly wish you well in your goals of becoming more prepared.

Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

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