• FluTrackers.com Inc. does not provide medical advice. Information on this web site is collected from various internet resources, and the FluTrackers board of directors makes no warranty to the safety, efficacy, correctness or completeness of the information posted on this site by any author or poster. The information collated here is for instructional and/or discussion purposes only and is NOT intended to diagnose or treat any disease, illness, or other medical condition. Every individual reader or poster should seek advice from their personal physician/healthcare practitioner before considering or using any interventions that are discussed on this website. By continuing to access this website you agree to consult your personal physican before using any interventions posted on this website, and you agree to hold harmless FluTrackers.com Inc., the board of directors, the members, and all authors and posters for any effects from use of any medication, supplement, vitamin or other substance, device, intervention, etc. mentioned in posts on this website, or other internet venues referenced in posts on this website.
  • We are not asking for any donations. Do not donate to any entity who says they are raising funds for us.

Mass Burial Plans

C

Cautel

Active member
'Mass grave' a possibility for victims if flu strikes' <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=headerTable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=* border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
Mar 31 2006

</TD></TR><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>
</TD></TR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=400 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3> </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>
VICTIMS of a flu pandemic in Croydon could be buried in a mass grave if the illness hits council workers.

A report into how the town would deal with a flu pandemic on the scale of the one that struck after the First World War has put the number of potential fatalities at 8,000 - with a quarter of the town's 330,000 population becoming infected.

A report drawn up by the council says the number of people dying would increase from 45 to more than 400 a week. At peaks this would mean the crematorium running 24 hours a day to cope and the council employing eight teams of gravediggers.

If the contingency fails, either through excessive staff sickness or through the failure of power supplies, "then the plan falls back on the use of a mass grave," the report says.

It adds: "This will only be used as a last resort as it poses many moral and psychological challenges."<!-- OAS AD 'x60 begin --><SCRIPT language=JavaScript type=text/javascript><!--OAS_AD('x60');//--></SCRIPT><!-- OAS AD 'x60' end -->​

<SCRIPT language=JavaScript type=text/javascript><!-- var MPUBlockLength = 707; //--></SCRIPT>
Cllr Paul Smith, cabinet member for public protection and crime reduction, said: "This plan is not intended to scare anyone, quite the reverse. It is about saying we recognise the risk that exists and we are working with other London boroughs to make sure that whatever happens we are there to meet it."


The plan looks at a general flu pandemic but it leaves the council prepared to deal with an out-break if bird flu hit humans.

http://iccroydon.icnetwork.co.uk/news/headlines/tm_objectid=16883244%26method=full%26siteid=53340%26headline=%2dmass%2dgrave%2d%2da%2dpossibility%2dfor%2dvictims%2dif%2dflu%2dstrikes%2d-name_page.html​
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
 
Mass Burial Plans

Not sure if this goes here, feel free to move it.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1786394.html


Mass graves fear in bird flu attack

Mass burials are being considered by the Home Office as part of preparations for a possible avian flu pandemic.

A "prudent worst case" assessment suggested 320,000 people could die in Britain if the H5N1 virus mutated into a form contagious to humans, according to a confidential report seen by the Sunday Times.

That would lead to delays of up to 17 weeks in burying or cremating victims, the document - said to have been discussed by a cabinet committee - says.

It warns that the prospect of "common burial" would stir up images of the mass pits used to bury victims of the Great Plague in 1665.

But in fact it "might involve a large number of coffins buried in the same place at the same time, in such a way that allowed for individual graves to be marked".

Town halls - the report suggests - could deal with what it terms a "base case" of 48,000 deaths in England and Wales in a 15-week pandemic.

But it adds: "Even with ramping local management capacity by 100%, the prudent worst case of 320,000 excess deaths is projected to lead to a delay of some 17 weeks from death to burial or cremation."

Should the outbreak kill 2.5% of those who contract the flu, it warns, "no matter what emergency arrangements are put in place there are likely to be substantially more deaths than can be managed within current timescales".

Bird flu has already forced the slaughter of millions of birds across three continents since the deadly H5N1 strain emerged three years ago.

More than 100 humans have also been killed by it - all people who had been in close contact with infected birds. A pandemic would only become a possibility if the strain was able to mutate into a form that could be spread between humans.
 
Report, titled `Managing Excess Deaths in an Influenza Pandemic'

Report, titled `Managing Excess Deaths in an Influenza Pandemic'

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="510"><tbody><tr><td height="20" valign="top" width="510"> Over 3 lakh could die in UK if bird flu affects humans: Report </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="5">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="20" valign="top"> London,PTI:
</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
A bird flu outbreak among humans could claim 3.2 lakh lives in Britain and burial or cremation of the victims could take around four months, according to a worst-case assessment by the UK Home office.

As many as 3.2 lakh people could die from the H5N1 strain of the virus if it mutated into a form that could easily be passed among humans, the confidential Home office report seen by `The Sunday Times' said.

The report, titled `Managing Excess Deaths in an Influenza Pandemic' and dated March 22, also said such large number of deaths could bring about a delay in burial or cremation as, at present, the local management was capable of handling just 48,000 deaths in England and Wales in a pandemic spanning 15 weeks, according to the paper.

"Even with ramping local management capacity by 100 per cent, the prudent worst case of 3,20,000 . . . Deaths is projected to lead to a delay of some 17 weeks from death to burial or cremation," the report was quoted as saying by the paper. This would prompt the authorities to resort to mass burial stirring up folk memories of the burial pits of 1665, when around 70,000 people died in London due to plague, the paper said.

On the large number of deaths, the report said the bird flu vaccines "should not be seen as a silver bullet solution and will not be available in the first wave of a pandemic [possibly longer]", the paper said.

However, a few scientists raised questions about the much hyped potential of the virus to infect humans, the report said, according to the paper.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr22006/update64511200642.asp
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top