How That New Movie Coming Out Could Effect Your Life...

Imagine if you will, a virus so infectious that it can quickly travel around the world several times in one week.  By that time, millions and millions of people have become infected.   The world as we know it would no longer exist.  It sounds like a movie script doesn't it.  I have seen clips of a new movie coming out later in the month called, "Contagion".   It is based on this premise.   It is one that I definitely would like to see. 

Have you ever consider what your plan of action would be in this scenario?  How likely is it that something like this could occur?  Do you know of an isolated place where you can take your family for up to 90 days before the virus would have a chance to burn itself out?  These are good questions.   Again I hope that I do not ever have live through a situation like this  However, I have at least thought about it and feel that I would be able to handle it better because of this.  In today's blog I want write out my own answers to these questions, in hopes that others can possibly learn from my responses. 

The first part of my action plan was find a safe, isolated place for my family to rendezvous.  The spot that I have selected is miles away from a paved road.  However, it has some of the basic elements needed for survival.  This spot is located near an underground spring.  The spring creates a little stream through the desert.  All along the stream are abundant plant life, and many animals use it as their watering hole.  It makes it a perfect location to be able to hunt and trap small game.  In terms of plant life, cattails are plentiful at that location.  There are many parts of a cattail that can be eaten to provide many of the necessary nutrients to sustain life.  There are huge hardwood tress in the area which will be perfect for making shelter and providing firewood for warmth.  It is so remote that few people even know where it is and so difficult to reach that most would not want to try.  In this sort of a scenario, isolation from the masses will be key. 

The second question from the 2nd paragraph asks, "How likely is it that something like this could occur?"  About once every 100 years or so, a mutant virus comes along that humans have not seen before and therefore do not have the necessary antibodies to fight it off.  These types of viruses are even worst today since travel between nations is so common.  You could argue that these virus can travel as fast as the speed of an airplane.  Mother nature has been responsible for the past outbreaks, for example the Black Death of 1348 or more recently the virus known as H1N1.  Fortunately for everyone the H1N1 virus was not a particularly strong one.   Nowadays though, biological weapons under the control of terrorists could be used.  I read this on a website the other day: 

For example, after the recent attack on Gaddafi's palace in Libya, special operations personnel have been unable to locate stockpiles of precursor chemicals that his regime was known to possess. These chemicals may now be in the hands of terrorists who can use them to begin producing biological and chemical weapons that they'll use against their perceived "enemies," such as the American people.

Government Medical Response Will Leave You and Me Out in the Cold

In the case of a biological attack, the response by government officials may be as frightening as the attack itself. Because many biological agents are contagions, government personnel won't just clean up, treat the wounded, and call it a day. A biological attack will likely create an ongoing crisis. During such a crisis, both state and federal officials have broad powers that they can call upon to try to contain the spread of disease.

For example, in New York, state and city officials recently published a legal handbook on response protocols for a major epidemic that results from a terrorist attack or from natural causes. Local governments have the power to "establish curfews, quarantine wide areas, close businesses, restrict public assemblies, and, under certain circumstances, suspend local ordinances.  I often worry about the large number of people currently living in cities.  It will be difficult to avoid contact with others around you with the virus.  If you already know where you would go to have a "safe" location, how long would it be before you would make the move to that place.  4 days after the outbreak, 7 days, 2 weeks?  Would the government let you go? What would traffic be like if you waited too long?  Would there be any gasoline left if all workers stayed home to isolate themselves?  How long would it take before gangs started running the show?  There are no easy answers.  However, these are questions that will need to be answered in the event of an outbreak.  Why not think about it now?  If you wait too long the list of supplies that you will be needing will be less and less available with each passing hour.  Again the purpose of this blog is not to try to put fear into you.  On the contrary, I would hope that by thinking about these things in advance you would have greater peace of mind.  I go to bed each night without fear of the unknown.  I know that I am repeating myself when I say this, but I am not suggesting that these things will ever happen in your lifetime.  If it does though, I hope that you are ready.  Again, the way that I see it, if it never happens then at least I had no trouble sleeping at night, and I had a lot of practice (enjoying life) in the outdoors.  It is a win-win scenario.  

The state of Alaska came up with a multi-week program to deal with just such a situation.  Here is the link I found it interesting:  http://www.hss.state.ak.us/prepared/assets/DHSS-7Day.pdf  .

Happy Trails everyone!  I hope you take the time soon to get out an enjoy nature!