I always like to have a preventative and readiness mindset especially when it comes to health. I'm sure almost everyone has heard of the bird flu in South Asia and I'm betting the general consensus in the USA is that of apathy, ignorance, and/or complacency of this flu and that it would never have a chance of coming here. With a mortality rate of almost 80% (maybe the sampling isn't large enough), I'm in no mood to play games. There is no vaccine yet and even if they were to develop a definitive vaccine starting today, it would take months. There is no definitive cure either. But there are antiviral drugs like Tamiflu that help mitigate the spreading of the bird flu virus and might help people recover from it.

I should note that, the bird flu virus genes hasn't been observed recombining with the normal human flu genes. That's why there are only like 55 cases in so many years. But that doesn't mean it won't or can't happen. That's the key, right there. If the mutation occurs, it could be trouble, and could possibly spread as freely as the normal flu.

Is Tamiflu available at the local pharmacist? I'm sure if (or when) the panic hits and the vultures start squawking, they would probably put a lock down on these drugs and have ethicists deem who would qualify for the drugs.

Don't let this post scare you, perhaps it's biased since I'm usually paranoid about stuff LOL. It is possible that I'm blowing this out of proportion. But if you are paranoid too, try to get them for your loved ones like I am.