Re: Egypt announces third human death from bird flu
Re: Egypt announces third human death from bird flu
Florida1 said:
Gaudia - Did you hear of, or see, any local news about the current H5N1 situation there? In English?
Yes. I spoke with the manager of the 4 star hotel I stayed at in Aswan, the Basma Hotel, capacity about 200 rooms. He said that he had held 2 meetings with senior level staff to discuss bird flu. His kitchen food prep people use masks and gloves.
I explained the risks in detail. The main point he was not aware of was the consequence of the high death rate, the drop in staffing available. He agreed that he should cross train and that he should alert his entire staff to the risk they and their families face. He is a unique manager who considers his life to be his work and his staff to be his family. So, they will learn of the risks and be asked to discuss them with their families. We're talking about uneducated people, mind you. But he will act. He understands the point I garnered in Minneapolis... support the staff so they're loyal after the event has passed.
He also knows about Adamine, the only drug available in Egypt, adamantine by a brand name. He knows cost and availability. He knows transmission issues also. He will do something and that will be more than I'm guessing any other company.
I visited a very large, 1000 employee, fabric finishing plant outside of Cairo. They know nothing and they're completely unprepared and dumbfounded over the risk. Laughter was the response to a 50% mortality rate that I suggested is well within reason. Nothing will be done there to prepare, although the business is highly efficient, operating on a low labor cost, 24 x 7.
There was nothing in the news but for Egyptian Gazette which carried very small summary blurbs on the deaths, I believe. It's not a big news item, except at one hotel.
I'm curious; so I like to wander into places and look around. I wandered into Club Med, a French controlled business, and there at the registration desk was a counter placard explaining bird flu, the same one that one sees at Charles de Gaul airport. Outside of these encounters, I saw nothing else. Nobody I spoke to knew anything. Even the pharmacies, operated by MD's, were totally ignorant about bird flu but for one who thought that amantadine will not work on this flu.
